


stars shine in the darkness

by SEMellark



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Assassins & Hitmen, Author Takes Liberties with Canon, BAMF Sawada Tsunayoshi, BAMF Yamamoto Takeshi, Codependency, Coming of Age, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Fantasy elements, Found Family, Gray Morality, Italian Mafia, M/M, Mafia Boss Sawada Tsunayoshi, Mentors, Mild D/S dynamic, Mild Sexual Content, Referenced Suicide Attempt, References to Depression, Slow Burn, Time Skips, Time Travel, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, in this house we hate Sawada Iemitsu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:14:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 71,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23646769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEMellark/pseuds/SEMellark
Summary: Yamamoto Takeshi spends his entire childhood wishing on stars, but when he grows up to become the Tenth Generation Rain Guardian of the Vongola Family, no one is particularly surprised, least of all Takeshi himself.-AU. In which Tsuna becomes the Tenth with the help of his singularly-devoted Guardians.
Relationships: Reborn & Yamamoto Takeshi, Sawada Tsunayoshi & Vongola Tenth Generation Guardians, Sawada Tsunayoshi/Yamamoto Takeshi, Yamamoto Takeshi & Vongola Tenth Generation Guardians
Comments: 99
Kudos: 577





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been losing my mind in self-isolation, so this story spawned from one of my many anime-themed, quarantine dreams. 
> 
> Do I need to start another story? No. Am I going to? Absolutely. I hope you'll join me for the ride!

Takeshi’s own personal miracle came in the form of a broken arm.

He spent _so long_ wishing for one – a miracle, that is. Takeshi’s mother loved fairy tales, and she practically raised him on them. Her favorites always involved wishing stars, and she’d often let him stay up past his bedtime so they could all look at the night sky together. “I prayed on a star once,” she liked to say, “and it gave me you, Takeshi.”

She told him that so many times over the years, though Takeshi most remembers that last time in the hospital, when she’d held his hand and told him to never stop wishing.

Takeshi didn’t stop. If anything, he wished more after she was gone, even if for a long time, he didn’t know what he was wishing _for._ Night after night, he’d just lean out his bedroom window, or look up from a deserted baseball diamond long after his teammates went home, and think, _Please._

What Takeshi felt wasn’t easily defined. He wasn’t lonely. He wasn’t sad. He was something else, he thought, something that made his father’s hair gray faster, that made baseball something Takeshi couldn’t stand yet couldn’t live without.

It drove him mad, but Takeshi didn’t reach the tipping point until the accident. The doctors didn’t know if his arm would heal correctly, if he’d ever play baseball again, and Takeshi…

Well, Takeshi doesn’t really remember what he thought, if he thought anything at all. There was only that _something_ he’d carried since his mother died. It drove him to make unnamable wishes on stars for years, to swing a baseball bat until his hands were bloody.

It drove him to the school roof. It would’ve driven him to an early grave, too, if it hadn’t been for Tsuna.

The day his life almost ended was the first time Takeshi could remember being seen in years. Not just looked at, but properly _seen_. Sawada Tsunayoshi grabbed Takeshi’s hand and demanded that he live, and Takeshi thought of his mother and her wishing stars, of all the nights he’d fallen asleep at his window, of each and every one of the undefinable things he’d felt since his mother told him he was her miracle for the last time.

 _Oh,_ Takeshi thought.

* * *

Takeshi is drawn to Tsuna in a way he can’t quite explain, but he doesn’t let himself think about it too much. Especially since all Tsuna _does_ is think and worry. Takeshi isn’t about to let himself become another of Tsuna’s anxieties, so he resolves to be different. More than what he was.

It’s easier to laugh and smile with Tsuna. It felt like a job before, something Takeshi had to do just to get through each day. But it means something now, especially when Gokudera comes, along with the weird toddler who speaks in riddles and sometimes gets a look in his eye that sends shivers down Takeshi’s spine. Even so, Takeshi spends so many days with them, laughing until his sides hurt, and it doesn’t take long for Takeshi to decide he's incapable of living a life without his two friends.

That isn’t to say, however, that Takeshi is completely oblivious to what’s happening. He makes a point of watching Tsuna – Takeshi spent too long blinded by his own issues to recognize what was happening to Tsuna every day since they were children – and it’s easy to see when his normal, neurotic tendencies take a turn for the worse.

Tsuna takes on a hunted edge. The bullies don’t touch him anymore – Takeshi’s made sure of it – but he never really stops looking over his shoulder. He doesn't sleep as much – Takeshi will text him at nearly midnight some days, and Tsuna will always respond within five minutes. Even Nana, who Takeshi has never known to be out of sorts, watches Tsuna with helplessness when she thinks he isn’t looking.

 _Something_ is happening to Tsuna, and Takeshi is no longer the type of person who can’t care.

Everything changes when Gokudera comes to his house long after dark, not with scathing words and a tightly curled fist, but with a look in his eyes that Takeshi’s never seen before yet knows almost intimately.

“What would you do,” he asks, standing tall on Takeshi’s front porch, “if Tsuna needed you?”

“Anything,” Takeshi replies.

Gokudera takes him to Namimori Middle. The school gates are unlocked and open, and Takeshi half expects to be jumped by the Disciplinary Committee for trespassing. But Gokudera walks with a purpose, and Takeshi can do nothing but fall into step behind him.

When they reach the gym, Takeshi first sees Tsuna’s tutor, Reborn, sitting atop the stage where their principal normally stands during assembly. His arms are crossed over his chest, legs crossed at the knee, and Takeshi doesn’t know what to make of the expression on his face. The lights above the stage are on, but the gym is otherwise dark. Takeshi can’t even begin to imagine what’s about to take place here.

“Never in my life did I think I would be taking orders from an _infant,_ ” Hibari Kyouya says, tone devoid of any emotion even as his eyes burn in the gloom. He stands almost defiantly, eyes tracking Takeshi and Gokudera as they come closer. “This had better be worth my time.”

“It _is_ kind of late,” Sasagawa Ryouhei adds, arms stretching above his head as he yawns. “My dad’s gonna kill me if he catches me sneaking in at this hour.”

Gokudera grumbles something Takeshi doesn’t catch under his breath but ultimately stays quiet. “Sorry to call you kids out here so late,” Reborn says, and Takeshi’s had his suspicions – nothing about the toddler has ever screamed “child” to him – but that sentence alone somehow confirms it. “Tsuna’s been having trouble sleeping. I had to wait until he nodded off to leave the house.”

Hibari scoffs. “You expect me to believe you couldn’t have just knocked him out? You may have evaded me so far, but even I know you’re far more capable than you look.”

Reborn grins, dipping his head so the shadow cast by the brim of his hat obscures his eyes. “Fair enough.”

Takeshi frowns. “You wouldn’t knock Tsuna out. Would you?”

“And if I said I would? That I have?” Reborn asks. “What would you do, Yamamoto Takeshi?”

Takeshi doesn’t like the strange feeling that rears up in his chest, but he barely has time to act on it. Gokudera extends an arm, barring Takeshi from even taking a step forward. “Sir,” he says at length, “please don’t antagonize him. He’s a headache to deal with when he’s in a _good_ mood.”

Sasagawa laughs, and it echoes throughout the empty gym, rings in Takeshi’s ears even over the roaring of his own blood.

“I have a question for you three,” says Reborn. “What do you think of Tsuna?”

“Sawada?” Hibari echoes. Takeshi doesn’t like the sound of Tsuna’s name in the older boy’s mouth. He says it flippantly, like he’s entirely unbothered. As if Tsuna were beneath him. “He’s just another herbivore. One with pitiful grades at that.”

“Aw, I think Sawada’s a riot,” Sasagawa counters. “Who cares if he’s not good at school, have you seen how he fights?”

“You would think that, Sasagawa.”

“Eh? Aren’t you the one who challenged him to a fight in the middle of the schoolyard?”

“He was breaking Disciplinary Committee guidelines – “

“This is why I hate dealing with teenagers,” Reborn sighs, shaking his head as he hops down off the stage. He barely makes a sound when he lands, and Takeshi watches keenly as he strides over to them. “Your focus is abysmal.”

Hibari’s eyes narrow although he doesn’t say a word. Sasagawa just shrugs, though even he tracks Reborn’s movements as he leisurely circles around them.

“Yamamoto?” Reborn presses. “Surely you have thoughts about Tsuna, too?”

Gokudera snorts, though Takeshi opts to ignore him as he says, “He’s my friend. My best friend, probably. I think he’s great.”

“Yes, you would think that, wouldn’t you?” Reborn drawls, and the shift of the room's energy is almost palpable.

The four of them stiffen as Tsuna’s tutor comes to a stop before them, tilting his head back to look up at them with eyes entirely different than before. Takeshi can’t place what he sees there, but he tastes acid in his mouth, and his head is full of empty, hospital hallways.

“Tsunayoshi is a lot of things,” Reborn continues, voice low and steady while still maintaining its childishness. It’s one of the more unnerving things Takeshi’s heard in his life. “But great? He’s not even _close_. Not yet. He’s lacking, though that’s through no fault of his own.”

Takeshi’s fingers twitch. His chest burns, but the rest of his body feels ice cold. “You don’t say that to him, do you?” he asks. “I thought you were supposed to be helping him.”

Reborn actually _laughs,_ and Takeshi catches Gokudera staring at him owlishly, mouth slightly agape. “That’s good, Yamamoto,” Reborn says. “Keep that fire. Tsuna isn’t great, but he could be. He _will_ be, if I have anything to say about it. He’ll just need all the help he can get.”

“And what does that have to do with us?” Hibari asks, slowly sliding his gaze away from Takeshi and back to Reborn. “I have no interest in being friends with Sawada.”

“I’m not asking you to be friends with him,” Reborn replies. “You just need to live for him.”

Takeshi blinks hard enough that he sees white spots for a brief moment. It’s like he’s suddenly back on the school roof, staring up into eyes like liquid fire as a voice implores him to live.

“Uh, what?” Sasagawa laughs nervously. “What does that mean?”

“I know I’m asking a lot of you,” Reborn continues in a voice that suggests he doesn’t _truly_ care about the pressures of whatever he’s going to ask them. “But listen, and listen carefully. Tsuna has a unique position within a very powerful organization. He could lead it someday, but he needs people at his side. People who will be loyal to him to the very end. And I happen to find you all suitable candidates, considering your history with him.”

Gokudera seems entirely unbothered when Takeshi spares a glance at him. He’s the only one who wasn’t asked about his feelings toward Tsuna, and already Takeshi can tell that the other boy knows exactly what Reborn is talking about.

Gokudera, along with Reborn, always had an air about him that told a different story than what he presented himself to be. Takeshi resolved not to question it, didn’t want to do anything to disrupt whatever peace he could salvage for himself and Tsuna, but it’s slowly becoming obvious to him that he can’t do that anymore.

Whatever happens here tonight, whatever Reborn says and whatever they all decide, things will be different – Takeshi can tell. Tsuna’s probably been fighting against it this entire time, all on his own, and Takeshi hadn’t had a clue.

Things are going to change, and Takeshi refuses to be left struggling in the aftermath. 

“I’d do anything for Tsuna,” Takeshi says, echoing his earlier words to Gokudera. “So, whatever you want us to do, I’m in.”

Reborn tilts his head slightly. “You’d even die for him?”

“Of course,” Takeshi replies, and it should scare him, how he didn’t even hesitate. It certainly worries Sasagawa, who stares at Takeshi in mild horror. Gokudera and Hibari don’t appear as rattled, though the former seems unusually subdued while the latter appraises Takeshi with a budding interest.

It _should_ scare him, but it just… doesn’t. The only reason Takeshi is alive now is because of Tsuna, and he’s keenly aware of that fact. The thought of Tsuna being in trouble, of worrying about his future in this mystery organization makes Takeshi feel unsettled, almost panicked. There’s no way he’d let Tsuna face something like that alone, not if there’s even a possibility of him getting hurt.

Tsuna was an answer to a wish Takeshi hadn’t known to ask for. He'd rather die than give that up.

“You have a strong flame,” Reborn muses, dragging Takeshi from his thoughts. He’s staring hard at the center of Takeshi’s chest with a gleam in his eyes. “I thought you might. Tsuna’s easier to work with when you’re around.”

“Flame?” Hibari repeats under his breath while Sasagawa says, “Okay, _what_ is going on?”

* * *

Wielding a katana isn’t all unlike holding a baseball bat. Gokudera _hates_ when Takeshi makes the comparison. He accuses Takeshi of not taking this seriously, of treating everything like a game, but Takeshi remains unbothered. He knows the truth. There’s just no other way to describe how he feels when he holds his katana. Takeshi has never held one before in his life, but when he takes one up after asking his father to train him, the way the hilt fits in his baseball-weathered hands feels _right._

“You’re a natural,” his father says, and Takeshi doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but he doesn’t really care.

Good or bad doesn’t mean anything anymore. There’s only one thing Takeshi knows now, and that’s protecting his Sky.


	2. Chapter 2

Gokudera aside, Takeshi can’t really bring himself to care about what the other Guardians are doing. Hibari has expressed no interest in accepting Reborn’s proposal, and Sasagawa doesn’t seem to know what to think about the whole thing. He still comes around, trying to cajole Tsuna into joining him for a round in the school’s dojo, but something about his demeanor is more preoccupied than before.

Their indecision is the least of Takeshi’s concerns. He has his hands full with learning fourteen years worth of kendo as quickly as possible, convincing his father to teach him Shigure Soen Style, _and_ avoiding all the people breathing down his neck about him having quit baseball.

“I don’t have the time anymore,” Takeshi tells his coach when he turns in his resignation.

“My heart just isn’t in it,” Takeshi tells his father that same night, and he’s the only one who doesn’t pester Takeshi or ask too many questions. His father probably knows him better than anyone else in the world - Takeshi has always thought that – and it becomes true when the man looks Takeshi in the eye and accepts the reasons he was given, even though he probably doesn’t truly believe them.

Tsuna thinks he’s gone mad, or perhaps regressed to the darkest part of Takeshi’s life that only the two of them are privy to. “You aren’t – This isn’t – “ Tsuna struggles with his words sometimes, and it bothers their classmates, but Takeshi has never minded. He couldn’t, before that day on the roof, and now Takeshi just hangs off Tsuna’s every word, no matter how haltingly given. “I don’t know what Reborn said to you, but this isn’t something you have to quit baseball over, Yamamoto-kun.”

 _Takeshi,_ he thinks. _What will it take for you to call me Takeshi?_ “Don’t worry about it, Tsuna,” he replies, waving him off with a laugh and a smile. “I don’t miss it. I’d much rather be hanging around with you guys. It’s a lot of fun, really!”

Tsuna frowns, staring hard at Takeshi, who gazes placidly back. Takeshi is slowly becoming used to the way Tsuna observes the world around them. He has that _way_ about him, as if he’s looking through a person and seeing straight to their very soul.

Reborn had given a name to this phenomenon, calling it Hyper Intuition and marking it as what would one day make Tsuna the greatest Vongola Boss since the Primo. Takeshi has experienced what Tsuna can do with it raw and untrained. He can’t wait to see how it’ll develop over time.

“I don’t… want to be the next Boss, you know,” Tsuna says quietly. His mouth barely moves, and his shoulders draw closer to his ears with every word. It’s the first time he’s even referenced the Vongola in Takeshi’s presence. “I’m not cut out for it.”

Takeshi takes his time replying. They aren’t alone in the classroom, having opted to stay behind during lunch instead of heading up to the roof like usual. Hibari is there, and Gokudera’s gone to try and convince him to become Tsuna’s Guardian one more time. Personally, Takeshi doesn’t see the point in having Hibari around if he isn’t willing, but Gokudera is nothing if not stubborn. “Tsuna needs him,” the Italian boy always says. “I’ll make him see that.”

“I disagree,” Takeshi says eventually, mouth quirking into a half smile when Tsuna drops his head to his desk with a groan. “But you don’t have to do anything you don’t want, Tsuna. We can figure something else out if we have to.”

If Tsuna decides to officially reject his candidacy for the tenth Vongola Boss, Takeshi wonders if they’d have to go on the run. Nothing Reborn has told him about the Vongola gives Takeshi the impression that they’ll just let Tsuna out of this. Takeshi thinks he and Gokudera could protect Tsuna from run-of-the-mill goons if it came down to it – he understands there’s no hope of Gokudera accepting anyone but Tsuna as his Boss – but if Reborn came after them? Or Tsuna’s father, who is still very much a wild card in all this? Things could become complicated. They’d have to disappear to America, or the Amazon, and Takeshi knows very little about either.

“I just don’t get it,” Tsuna grumbles into the circle of his arms. “Who cares who my ancestors were? Why do they need _me_ in the running?”

To that, Takeshi says nothing. He’s of the opinion that everyone needs a Tsuna.

* * *

They greatly underestimate the Varia’s strength. Takeshi wants to blame Reborn, who always expressed their competence as future Guardians, even if it was through thinly veiled insults. He has nothing to say now, however, as Tsuna trembles before them and pleads with Gokudera to give up on the Storm ring.

There’s nothing any of them can say. Sasagawa and Lambo haven’t regained consciousness, Gokudera seems close to death, and what do they have to show for it? Sasagawa got them the Sun ring, but they lost both the Lightning and Sky rings during Lambo’s fight with Levi. The Storm ring seems like a lost cause now, and frankly, Takeshi doesn’t care. He’d rather Gokudera live to see another day. He _has_ to live, and not just because he’s the only other person who understands Takeshi’s devotion to Tsuna.

Takeshi’s body shakes alongside Tsuna’s, though for a different reason. How could Gokudera have ever accused Takeshi of thinking all this was a game? As if Takeshi could stand here and watch him fight for his life, for _Tsuna’s_ life, on a giant screen in the heart of their middle school, and not feel the weight of what’s happening.

No, this has never been a game to Takeshi. Not now, not when Sasagawa fought, or _Lambo,_ who’s the youngest of them all, even younger than Reborn pretends to be.

They’re all risking their lives for this – even Hibari and Dokuro, who barely have any ties to Tsuna at all – and somewhere between Lambo losing consciousness and Gokudera admitting defeat for the first time _ever,_ Takeshi decides he’s going to do whatever it takes to get his ring.

* * *

Takeshi spends his entire fight with Squalo feeling frustrated. Xanxus’ second-in-command is good, but he’s nowhere near as polished as Takeshi’s own father. Takeshi watches Squalo move, and he sees the paths being cut by his body and sword. He _sees_ them, but he isn’t fast enough, not yet used to fighting an opponent who comes at him with true killing intent.

When Takeshi practiced with his father, he often got the sense that he would never reach his level, not even if he practiced for a hundred years. Takeshi doesn’t feel like that with Squalo, but their difference in experience is what sets them apart, and Takeshi isn’t in a place where he can close the gap.

He rolls out of the way of Squalo’s next attack, holding Shigure Kintoki close to himself as he struggles to regain his footing on the wet and slippery rocks. (Takeshi gets it, they’re the potential Rain Guardians, but _seriously_?)

“This whole thing is a farce,” Squalo snarls as he comes at Takeshi again. Their swords connect with a harsh, grating sound that rings in Takeshi’s ears. “Xanxus is the only one suitable to be the Tenth.”

Takeshi grits his teeth, pushing back against Squalo’s considerable force. “We’ll see.”

“And _you._ ” Squalo laughs, leaping back a few meters of space between them. Part of Takeshi is grateful for the breather, but he feels as if he’s the only one who cares that the battle is timed. Why does this guy have to _talk_ so much? “You’re an absolute disgrace. You have so much potential, and yet you’re wasting it _here,_ with that pathetic little boy.”

Takeshi narrows his eyes, and the throbbing ache that he now recognizes as his latent Flame roars to life in his chest. He’s not at the point where he can actually use it, but he feels every bit of its animosity toward Squalo.

“Ah, yes, there it is,” Squalo laughs again. “You’ve got the eyes of a true Varia.”

Squalo adjusts his stance, smirking as his fingers tighten around the hilt of his sword, and the hair on the back of Takeshi’s neck stands on end. His opponent is getting bored. This fight is going to end soon, one way or another, and Takeshi doesn’t need Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition to know that.

Takeshi takes a deep breath, listens to the sounds of water sloshing all around him. He’s up against a member of the Varia. A literal assassin who could cut Takeshi down and feel absolutely nothing after. If Takeshi is going to win, he’ll have to push past his own limitations.

There’s a brief moment where Takeshi thinks of his mother. He wonders what she would think, if she would recognize him as the same child she gave birth to, the one she stargazed with.

He prays that Tsuna isn’t watching, and then Takeshi doesn’t think anything at all.

* * *

It takes a glare powered by the full force of Tsuna’s Hyper Dying Will to get Takeshi to willingly walk into a hospital.

He hasn’t been inside one since he broke his arm. It’s as awful and suffocating as he remembers, cold and sterile and _dark._ Reborn arranges for each of them to have their own room – everyone who needs one anyway – and as soon as Takeshi’s patched up and alone, he allows the weight of what just happened to settle over him.

They haven’t called his father – Reborn likely had something to do with that as well – and Takeshi is almost thankful for that. He doesn’t want to be seen like this, not after everything they went through with Takeshi’s mother.

Takeshi doesn’t feel like crying. He just sits in his hospital bed and stares down at the ring on his left forefinger. His body is still weak from the poison, and he aches all over. He has a concussion, a broken wrist, and too many lacerations to name.

Takeshi feels almost… fearful. Not because of his injuries, or even at the thought of their battles becoming more difficult from here on out. 

Because even before the _shark_ – which, okay, who brings a shark to a sword-fight? – Squalo was in much worse shape than Takeshi. And Takeshi had stood over him, Shigure Kintoki in hand, watching his opponent’s blood stain the water, and felt nothing. Nothing aside from a quiet sense of satisfaction, and a nagging thought that he should’ve gone for the throat.

Takeshi doesn’t know if the cameras captured what he felt in those moments before the shark took Squalo. But the thought that it may have, that Tsuna _saw him,_ makes Takeshi never want to leave this hospital bed.

Takeshi sighs, dropping his head back against the pillows. He still can’t quite believe they won. They probably owe it to Hibari, who managed to distribute the antidote to the poison they were all injected with. The older boy only showed up because he wanted a good fight, and he certainly got one, but he ended up doing so much more.

Hibari was also the only one Takeshi never ended up worrying about. Sasagawa is a wild card, especially since Takeshi still doesn’t know how he feels about all this, but he’s hardy and isn’t easy to keep down. And while Gokudera fought his hardest, he was up against someone entirely more sadistic than him. He came out alright in the end, though Takeshi knows what ultimately took the biggest hit was Gokudera’s pride.

Takeshi finds himself mostly thinking about Lambo and Dokuro. Lambo probably had it the worst out of them all, and Dokuro came across as pretty frail when Takeshi first met her. He isn’t really sure what happened during the Mist battle – Rokudo Mukuro showed up at one point? And possessed Dokuro? Takeshi doesn’t know if that actually happened or if it’s just the concussion talking – but she looked pretty rough when Takeshi last saw her.

They’re a ragtag group, Takeshi thinks as he stares at the ceiling, but they all came together for Tsuna. Maybe Reborn was onto something when he told them they were more powerful as a unit.

Takeshi startles when the door starts to slide open, and Tsuna enters the room without knocking like he usually does. He’s quiet as he closes the door and circles around Takeshi’s bed. His arms and neck are covered in bandages, but he’s still dressed in his own clothes, so Tsuna’s obviously been checked out and wasn’t deemed injured enough to be admitted. It’s a little surprising, considering who Tsuna’s opponent was, but Takeshi can only feel thankful.

The outcome could’ve been much different, and Takeshi _never_ wants to see Tsuna hooked up to machines in a hospital bed.

“Is everything okay?” Takeshi asks as Tsuna pulls up a chair beside his bed. “How are the others?”

“Lambo and Chrome are still unconscious,” Tsuna says. His eyes flicker to Takeshi’s briefly before darting away again. “The others are holding up. Hibari was arguing with the security detail when I left.”

Takeshi snorts, but even that much sends him into a series of painful spasms. Tsuna jerks in his chair but ultimately stays seated. “That guy,” Takeshi wheezes. “Doesn’t he ever rest? What’s he doing arguing with a security guard?”

Tsuna shakes his head. “Not hospital security. They’re Vongola people.”

Takeshi blinks owlishly over at Tsuna. “The Vongola are here?”

Their eyes lock for a long moment. A frown mars Tsuna’s usually soft features, and his bandaged fingers twitch against his thighs before they curl into fists. “Of course they are,” says Tsuna. “I won.”

“You… won.”

“Yamamoto-kun.” Even though he’s lying down, Takeshi can’t help but straighten at the shift in Tsuna’s tone. “I beat Xanxus. We got all the rings. What did you think that meant?”

“I didn’t think it meant anything,” Takeshi says slowly. He feels like he’s missing something, can’t account for the steeled look in Tsuna’s eyes. He’s never seen them look like that before, and he isn’t sure what Tsuna’s trying to get at. “You don’t want to be the Tenth, so even if we did win, I just kind of assumed that nothing would change. I just didn’t think we’d get thrashed that badly.”

Takeshi laughs awkwardly, even if it hurts. Tsuna just watches him with that same inscrutable look in his eyes. “Why’d you fight, then?” Tsuna asks, _demands_. “It was a battle to decide the _heir,_ Yamamoto-kun. You all – You just – I don’t understand _why._ ”

Tsuna rakes a hand through his hair in frustration, and Takeshi feels like he needs to _do_ something. He just doesn’t know what. “Hibari doesn’t even _like_ me,” Tsuna continues, “but he’s out there telling all these terrifying looking people to have at least three guards on every door, and it took me _ages_ to convince him to let me come check on you guys. He’s wearing his ring. You _all_ are.”

Takeshi spares a brief glance down at the Rain ring on his finger. He almost killed a man for it. To not wear it would seem disrespectful, somehow.

“I just… why?” Tsuna asks, staring at Takeshi with pleading eyes. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“We did, though,” Takeshi finds himself saying. “Or… I can’t really speak for the others, I guess, but when Reborn told us about the battle for the rings, I knew I had to fight. Even if you didn’t want to be the Tenth.”

Takeshi doesn’t know what Tsuna’s relationship to his Flame is like, but Takeshi innately understands his own, and it burns for a singular purpose. He can’t say the same is true for the other Guardians, but _something_ made them all show up tonight. Even Hibari, who’s fought them every step of the way, and Rokudo Mukuro, who claims to swear allegiance to no one.

Running or surrendering just hadn’t been an option. It was a singular truth, bone deep, that carried Takeshi through his fight with Squalo.

“You guys could’ve died,” Tsuna says, voice cracking into splinters over the last word. “All for some rings.”

Takeshi only shakes his head. He doesn’t give a damn about the ring or the Vongola, but he isn’t prepared to sit here and tell Tsuna what he’d told Reborn in the gym, all those weeks ago. “We didn’t, though,” he says with a smile. “Don’t worry about it, Tsuna.”

It’s the wrong thing to say, if Tsuna’s answering silence is anything to go by. Neither of them says another word, and Tsuna eventually leaves without sparing Takeshi another glance.

They don’t see one another again until a few days later, after Takeshi’s been discharged from the hospital. He’s the second to last to be sent home – Sasagawa is left behind, to his perpetual displeasure, since he keeps reopening his wounds due to his inability to sit still.

Takeshi definitely relates, though he has more patience than his senior. Sitting in the hospital for days on end with nothing to do left Takeshi feeling restless in a way he never has been before. As soon as he’s home, he pesters his father into letting him help around TakeSushi, something Takeshi was never allowed to do before due to his “distractedness.”

He’s working behind the counter when Tsuna shows up with Gokudera, Lambo, and Dokuro in tow; Takeshi is pretty occupied with helping his father serve customers, but he still does a double take when he catches the gleam of the Sky ring on Tsuna’s finger.

“Yamamoto-kun,” Tsuna says, and the smile on his face is altogether unfamiliar, but it sets Takeshi’s chest ablaze. “Will you be done with your shift soon? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”


	3. Chapter 3

Gokudera slaps a hand down on the open pages of Takeshi’s textbook. “Pay attention,” he snaps, and Takeshi and Tsuna exchange glances of mutual exhaustion. “You _need_ to know this stuff.”

“Do I?” Takeshi yawns, pushing his pencil underneath his wrist cast to get at an itch that’s been bothering him for most of the day. Lambo watches him curiously while he chews on cookies he’s been hoarding from the rest of them. “I doubt I’ll be doing much talking to anyone important.”

Gokudera opens his mouth but snaps it shut almost immediately. He breathes out heavily through his nose before turning to Tsuna. “Are you sure you want him as a Guardian? This moron could single-handedly ruin our relations with _hundreds_ of organizations.”

“Are you serious?” Takeshi says. “What about Lambo? He’s a literal baby.”

“I’m not a baby,” Lambo retorts from the booster seat Nana bought him so he could sit comfortably with everyone at the table. “I’m _five._ ”

“Lambo also speaks fluent Italian _and_ Japanese,” Gokudera adds, “and knows how to conduct himself as a mafioso far better than you do.”

Takeshi sighs. This wasn’t what he expected when Tsuna told him he’d decided to accept his position as the Tenth Vongola Boss. They’re still only in junior high, and it’s not like they’ll be relocating to Italy anytime soon.

As the only parental figure who knows the truth behind their circumstances, Nana had insisted they all finish high school before taking on any sort of prominent roles within the Vongola. But Gokudera’s still decided it’s _paramount_ that Tsuna and Takeshi become as fluent in Italian as he is. They’ve agreed to the lessons with limited grumbling, but Takeshi would much rather be practicing in his father’s dojo.

“Can we be done?” Tsuna asks desperately. “I can’t listen to you guys argue anymore.”

“This is your life now, Tsuna,” Takeshi says gravely, grinning when his friend shoots him a look of pure exasperation. “Aw, c’mon, you love us.”

“I love _some_ of you.” Tsuna goes back to scribbling in the workbook Reborn produced for each of them. They’re apparently used to teach preschoolers. Hibari had taken one look at his and promptly forced the school library to take it. “Like Chrome. Chrome doesn’t drive me crazy.”

“You don’t love me, Tsuna-nii?” Lambo asks, eyes large and watering dangerously. Takeshi glances over his shoulder, waiting for Nana to appear. She is _very_ protective of Lambo, and no one is exempt from her wrath if they upset him, not even Tsuna or Reborn.

Tsuna’s eyes get wide. “I do!” he blurts out, raising his hands in a placating manner. “Of course I do, Lambo, you’re great, you’re – you’re irreplaceable!”

The waterworks stop immediately as Lambo preens under the praise. Children really are easy to please, Takeshi thinks as he hands Lambo another cookie. The poor kid spent almost a week in the hospital, and all it really took to get him to bounce back was some extra attention and snacks. Maybe that’s just what it means to be born within the mafia. “I’m earplacable,” he says smugly.

Takeshi nods and doesn’t bother correcting him. There is some truth to it, anyway. Lambo wears the Lightning ring on a chain around his neck, and if things go smoothly, he’s the only one who will for a very long time. It doesn’t seem like he really understands his place with them just yet, but Lambo isn’t going anywhere. Not without the rest of them, anyway.

It makes Takeshi mad to think about how the Bovino Family gave Lambo up without much of a fight. Reborn was the one who handled negotiations, but he made it clear that Lambo wasn’t going back to the Bovino once he was released from the hospital, and that all contact between the two parties would be severed. Takeshi wonders if Lambo has any parents who will miss him, if anyone put up a fight when the Tenth Vongola Boss made a claim to their child assassin.

Takeshi doubts it. Lambo hasn’t mentioned the Bovino in weeks, and all his tantrums have made it perfectly clear that where he most wants to be is by Tsuna’s side. Takeshi can relate, but at least he has the unconditional love of his father to fall back on.

“Yamamoto-kun?” Tsuna asks, startling Takeshi. He and Gokudera are both looking at him with mild concern. “You okay?”

Takeshi laughs. He’s really no match for Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition, but that doesn’t mean he can’t try. “I’m kind of getting a headache,” he replies. “Concussions, you know?”

“Then we’re done for the day,” Tsuna says, and Gokudera doesn’t offer a word of protest. Not much has changed about Tsuna since he came to a decision at the crossroads of their battle with the Varia. He’s still jumpy, frantic, and easily exasperated, but more and more often, Tsuna speaks like he expects to be heard. “We can pick it up again tomorrow.”

Gokudera shoots Takeshi a wry look when Takeshi groans. “Tell me you’ve learned at least _something,_ ” he says. “How do you say, ‘I’m from Japan?’”

Takeshi nods sagely. “Good question.”

“… and?”

“I have no idea. Also, I think they’ll get the idea when I can’t speak any Italian.”

Gokudera looks like he’d love nothing more than to lean across the table and strangle Takeshi with his bare hands, but the sound of the doorbell ringing makes him draw up short. Takeshi doubts he’d try to start a fight with Tsuna here anyway, but there’s really no telling.

“Could you get that, Tsu-kun?” Nana’s voice calls from the kitchen. “I’m a little busy in here.”

Gokudera gets up before Tsuna can, making sure to flip Takeshi off before heading toward the entryway. “Hayato-nii is always so angry,” Lambo mumbles.

“Doesn’t help that someone just loves to make him that way,” says Tsuna.

“It’s part of our battle to be Tsuna’s right hand,” Takeshi tells Lambo. “Which I’m definitely winning.”

“You are _not,_ ” Gokudera snaps as he comes back into the living room. Hibari follows after, dressed in his school uniform and carrying a sleek, black briefcase that Takeshi doesn’t think he’s seen the older boy with before. “I’m way more competent than you, and the Tenth can _clearly_ see that.”

Tsuna rolls his eyes. “The Tenth is right here and doesn’t like when you call him that.”

“I’m glad to see you all are being productive,” Hibari says drily. He takes the empty chair at the head of the table, where Reborn usually sits, and pulls up the briefcase onto the table in front of him. “Or at least pretending to be.”

“What’s in the briefcase?” Lambo asks excitedly, standing up in his booster seat to lean into Takeshi’s space. “Is it money? A gun? Candy?”

“Documents,” Hibari replies, and Takeshi draws Lambo into his lap when the five-year-old wilts in disappointment. “I’ve been at Namimori High all day negotiating our acceptances.”

“Wait, what?” says Tsuna. “ _Our_ acceptances? You’re graduating junior high with us?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Hibari says. He pulls five or so manila envelopes out of his briefcase and distributes them: one each for Takeshi and Gokudera, and three for Tsuna. “The extras are for Sasagawa and Dokuro. I’ll trust you to deliver them.”

Tsuna blinks down at the envelopes sitting atop his abandoned workbook. “We’re accepted just like that? We don’t even have to take the entrance exams?”

“It’s not like they’re hard, but neither you nor Yamamoto would’ve passed,” Hibari replies evenly, and while Tsuna’s cheeks go red, Takeshi just shrugs with a grin. “I suppose you _could_ have, given proper tutoring, but there’s too much going on to bother with that.”

“Wow, Hibari,” Takeshi says, watching Lambo tear into his envelope. “I didn’t know you had that much sway with the high school, too.”

“Both the Dean and the Principal owed me a favor.”

“What about Rokudo?” Gokudera asks with a frown. He doesn’t trust the other Italian boy, and frankly, Takeshi doesn’t blame him. Chrome only ever sings his praises, and Tsuna doesn’t seem at all concerned about the loyalties of his second Mist Guardian, but Takeshi and Gokudera both agree that Rokudo Mukuro needs to be watched. “Will he be joining us, too?”

Hibari shakes his head. “I’m unsure. I tried looking into it, but Rokudo’s records are sealed, and my clearance level isn’t high enough yet.”

“How do you just ‘look into’ something like that?” Takeshi asks. “Isn’t he a war criminal or something?”

“Not quite,” Gokudera says with a sigh. “Don’t worry about it, Yamamoto.”

Takeshi shrugs. He doesn’t need to be told twice.

“Do you want to study Italian with us, Hibari-san?” Tsuna asks, setting the envelopes aside. “We’re done for the day, but we usually meet up after dinner every night if you want to come over.”

Hibari shoots him a bland look. “You needn’t worry about me. I’m fluent in Japanese, Chinese, English, and Italian.”

Takeshi barks out a startled laugh, and Tsuna just nods. “Okay. Yeah. Of course you are.”

* * *

Takeshi wakes up in the middle of the night to an uncomfortable weight on his chest and a bright light in his face. “About time,” Reborn says above him. “I’ve been here for ages.”

“I’m… sorry?” Takeshi asks groggily. It should probably say something about him that he isn’t too alarmed by the hitman apparently breaking into his house. The toddler stands on Takeshi’s chest, and as Takeshi fights away the fog in his mind, he finds himself thinking about only one thing. “Is Tsuna okay?”

“He’s fine,” Reborn replies, the flashlight in his hands flickering out and morphing into a familiar form. Leon crawls up his arm and settles on the brim of his hat, quickly fading into the darkness. “This isn’t about him.”

Takeshi allows himself to relax, then. “Alright. What’s up?”

“How do you feel about hitmen?”

Takeshi blinks in surprise. He wishes Reborn would at least get off his chest if they’re going to have this conversation, though he knows better than to ask. “You’re alright,” he replies. “I don’t really like Bianchi.”

Reborn breathes out a long-suffering sigh. “What do you think of hitmen as a _concept_?” he asks in a tone reminiscent of how Nana speaks to Lambo and I-Pin. “Work with me, kid. I’m a very busy man, you know.”

Now that he’s more awake, to say that Takeshi is confused is an understatement. Reborn comes and goes from their lives with very little warning, and when he’s around, it’s almost always to harass Tsuna. Reborn just doesn’t usually involve himself with the Guardians, leaving them to Dino or Collonello or Dr. Shamal. Takeshi doesn’t think he’s had a real conversation with the hitman since that night in Namimori Middle’s gym. “Nothing,” he says honestly. “I don’t think anything about them.”

“They don’t scare you? Repulse you?”

Takeshi shakes his head. “No. It’s just mafia stuff to me.”

Reborn says nothing for a while as he stares down his nose at Takeshi. “Do you think Tsuna will need one in the future?”

“What?”

“Mafia bosses, especially within the Vongola, have a lot of enemies,” Reborn explains. “Tsuna will have any number of hitmen and assassins going after his head for the rest of his life. And there’s no greater defense against a professional than another professional.”

“Aren’t _you_ his hitman?”

“I have no allegiance to anyone,” Reborn replies, and that, more than anything else, is why Takeshi can never really trust Reborn. “I’ll wipe my hands of you all once Tsuna’s fully trained.”

“Then, yes,” says Takeshi, beginning to feel annoyed. He _really_ wants Reborn out of his room. “He’ll probably need one.”

“He won’t like it.”

Tsuna doesn’t like a lot of things: school, physical activity, slugs, Iemitsu, and even Reborn to some degree, though Takeshi can see Tsuna starting to soften to him as time goes on. This isn’t the life Tsuna envisioned for himself, and although he’s becoming acclimated to his situation, there are still some things he isn’t willing to compromise on yet.

Takeshi thinks he will, eventually, but that’s what the Guardians are for in the meantime.

Takeshi shrugs. “We’ll convince him.”

But Reborn isn’t done yet. “I think you’d be the best fit, personally.”

“ _Me?”_

“I saw you,” Reborn says, making Takeshi’s heart leap underneath his tiny shoes, “during your fight with Xanxus’ Rain candidate. I recognize potential when I see it.”

"So, what?” Takeshi asks quietly. “Are you gonna tutor me to be like you?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Reborn chirps, finally hopping off Takeshi’s chest and down to the floor. Takeshi rolls onto his side and props himself up on an elbow to watch the hitman stroll across the room toward Takeshi’s open window. “It’s just something to think about. We’ll revisit this again in the future.”

“Couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow?” Takeshi asks, sparing a baleful glance at his alarm clock.

“Absolutely,” Reborn replies, and then he’s gone.

Takeshi flops back onto his pillows with a sigh. He wonders if this is how Tsuna feels on a regular basis. No wonder he hasn’t been getting enough sleep.

After a while, he turns his head to stare out his window. Reborn left it open, and without curtains obscuring his view, Takeshi can see a few tinkling lights against the night sky.

He thinks about his battle with Squalo, about how most of it is still a haze to him. He remembers things up to a certain point, and then the next thing Takeshi recalls with any sort of clarity is his opponent on the ground, coughing blood at Takeshi’s feet.

What Takeshi _does_ remember is how he’d felt, and that’s something he’s been trying to forget ever since. Trust Reborn to refuse to let him do that.

Tsuna has other Guardians that would do a much better job. There’s Lambo, of course, but he’s way too young and isn’t suited to be an assassin regardless. Hibari and Rokudo don’t seem like they’d care much about having to kill people on a regular basis, and Gokudera’s been training all his life for the possibility. The three of them would probably fall into the role more naturally, as well.

So, what does it say about Takeshi that Reborn came to him?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the point where I start taking more artistic liberties and playing around with canon!

Takeshi doesn’t often account for Sasagawa Kyouko.

She’s never really been on his radar. She isn’t unlikable, but Takeshi never fell into worshipping her the way his peers do, the way Tsuna does. He was always too preoccupied to be friendly with her before, and even now, Takeshi doesn’t see the point. She’s just his classmate and Sasagawa’s younger sister, so she fades into the background more often than not.

When she approaches Takeshi and Tsuna after the final bell of the day, Takeshi barely notices. What he does notice is how Tsuna fumbles in packing up his belongings. “Hi, Kyouko-chan,” says Tsuna, voice high in the way it only gets when their classmate addresses him. “Did you need something?”

Kyouko smiles, though she seems nervous. Takeshi exchanges a quick glance with Gokudera. “I just wanted to talk with you a bit. About Ryouhei?”

Tsuna doesn’t falter, though Takeshi knows his friend is screaming internally. “Oh, yeah? Right now?”

“If you have the time.”

Takeshi can see where this is headed, so he cuts Tsuna off at the pass. “Well, I better get going,” he says, backing off with a wave of his hand. He catches Gokudera’s eye again beyond Tsuna’s and Kyouko’s shoulders, and the other Guardian tips his head slightly to him. “I’m getting my cast off today. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Yamamoto-kun?” Tsuna seems bewildered as he watches Takeshi inch away. “Didn’t you want us to come with you?”

“He’s a big boy,” Gokudera assures Tsuna as Takeshi makes his exit. “He’ll be fine by himself.”

“But – ”

Their voices fade as Takeshi leaves the classroom and heads for the first floor. He keeps his mind carefully blank as he stops at his shoe locker to grab his sneakers. It’s still odd, using his Flames on himself, but Tranquility is something Takeshi’s become pretty good at over the weeks.

Colonnello has taken to teaching Takeshi about the characteristics of their Flame. His lessons are quick and occasionally hard to follow, but Takeshi’s started learning how to apply his budding powers to his training.

Tranquility lets him soften opponents, whether it be physically or mentally. Takeshi can slow down movement and even thought processes if he tries hard enough. He’s only ever attempted it on himself, Gokudera, and Sasagawa, though he itches to attempt Tranquility on his father as he grows more comfortable.

It comes in handy late at night when Takeshi finds that he can’t sleep. He isn’t hindering his own mental capacity – at least he doesn’t think so – but it does stop his intrusive thoughts for a while.

Tranquility carries Takeshi through the motions as he changes his shoes and steps out into the courtyard. He knows where he has to go and why, but he doesn’t think about the implications, or the fact that he’s alone, or the blush on Tsuna’s face when he talks to Kyouko.

It’s like peace, or as close to it as Takeshi can get. Thinking has never done him much good, anyway.

There’s a blip in Takeshi’s consciousness, like a disturbance on the surface of a lake. It draws Takeshi up and out of his haze and back into total awareness of his surroundings. He’s a little distressed to find that he hasn’t even made it a few steps out of the school gate, but there’s not much he can do about that.

Withholding a sigh, Takeshi turns at the sound of his name being called again. It’s Dokuro, standing just to the left of the gate. She clutches her school bag in front of her and waits patiently for a large group of students to pass between them before walking up to Takeshi. “Hello, Yamamoto-senpai,” she says with a slight bow. Joshima and Kakimoto are nowhere to be seen. “It’s good to see you.”

“You, too,” Takeshi says, somehow exhausted even though he didn’t use that much Flame energy. “What’s up?”

“I was waiting for you all.” She leans forward slightly to peak into the schoolyard behind Takeshi. “Did Sawada-sama and Gokudera-senpai come to school today?”

“They’re still up in the classroom. Sasagawa’s younger sister wanted to talk to them.” Takeshi sighs, reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck. “I think she’s gotten suspicious about what we’re doing.”

Dokuro’s visible eye widens the slightest bit. “Oh, dear. I know Sasagawa-senpai has been worried about that.”

“Tsuna and Gokudera will take care of it,” Takeshi assures her. “It’ll be fine.”

“If you say so, then I’ll believe you.”

“Thanks,” Takeshi says, just to have something to say. He likes Dokuro well enough, but he never knows how to act around her. Whenever he sees her, she’s either with her entourage or being possessed by Rokudo. “Anyway, I gotta get going. You’ll probably catch Tsuna and the others if you wait here long enough.”

“Oh, were you headed somewhere?”

“The hospital,” Takeshi replies. “I’m getting my cast off today. Tsuna and Gokudera were supposed to come with me, but… ” He trails off. Why is he even bringing that up? “Well, I’ll see you later, Dokuro.”

Takeshi turns and heads in the opposite direction, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. But he barely has time to try and use Tranquility before he hears quick footsteps on the pavement behind him. “I think I’ll join you, if you don’t mind.” Dokuro smiles when Takeshi glances down at her. “The walk won’t be as long if you have someone to talk to.”

Surprised but not displeased, Takeshi laughs. “Well, if you’re sure.”

She nods, reaching up to tuck a lock of purple hair behind her ear. “I don’t mean to impose. I just… well, I don’t like going places by myself.” She laughs sheepishly, and Takeshi thinks of Joshima and Kakimoto and how they always rag on her for being inferior to Rokudo. “Sorry if I’m just projecting onto you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Takeshi finds himself saying, and although he’s never been one for small talk, the fifteen-minute walk to the hospital flies by with Dokuro at his side.

* * *

Takeshi has trouble falling asleep that night, so he’s wide awake when his phone lights up on his bedside table.

He has a Line message from Tsuna, which would be well and good if it weren’t two in the morning.

**Tsuna:** did your appointment go okay?

**Takeshi:** yup! I’m a free man now \\(^~^)/

 **Takeshi:** don’t make fun of my cast tan when you see it tomorrow lol

**Tsuna:** good! And I wouldn’t do that anyway

Takeshi knows that, of course. If anyone’s going to say anything, it’ll be Gokudera. He’s wondering if he should ask Tsuna if everything with Kyouko went alright when he notices that Tsuna is still typing.

**Tsuna:** I’m really sorry I couldn’t go to the hospital with you!

 **Tsuna:** I felt bad for worrying Kyouko-chan and didn’t want to make her more suspicious of us

**Takeshi:** it’s okay, I didn’t mind

 **Takeshi:** what did you end up telling her?

**Tsuna:** Definitely not the truth

Somehow, this comes as a surprise to Takeshi. He knows how his friend feels about Kyouko, and this seems like it would’ve been an ideal opportunity to introduce her to the mafia world.

**Tsuna:** I talked to Sasagawa-senpai about it

 **Tsuna:** He agrees that we should keep it from her for now

 **Tsuna:** Telling her the truth would just make her worry

**Takeshi:** yeah that makes sense

 **Takeshi:** she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d just be okay with what we’re doing

**Tsuna:** I don’t like lying to her but there’s not much else I can do.

_You could tell her,_ Takeshi thinks. _You could tell her how you feel about her, about everything._ He doesn’t understand what Tsuna’s waiting around for, but there’s no way he’s going to press him on the issue. There’s a little less than four years between them and their relocation to Italy, Takeshi supposes, so it’s not like time isn’t on Tsuna’s side.

**Takeshi:** you did the right thing

 **Takeshi:** it would be harder to protect her if she knew

**Tsuna:** I know I know

 **Tsuna:** Gokudera-kun said the same thing.

 **Tsuna:** you two are pretty similar lol

**Takeshi:** pls don’t say that to him

 **Takeshi:** he yells at me enough as it is

**Tsuna:** we’ll see ╮(︶▽︶)╭

**Takeshi:** o(〒﹏〒)o

They stay awake talking back and forth for the next few hours, and by the time Takeshi’s alarm clock goes off, he’s gotten maybe forty-five minutes of sleep. Even so, when Takeshi wakes up, he's still clutching his phone, and his chest feels pleasantly warm.

* * *

Lambo’s Ten-Year Bazooka is a headache and a half. It’s a hassle to lug around, for one thing. Lambo was perfectly capable of carrying it before he met them, but once he becomes more comfortable, he starts looking for opportunities to pass it off to someone else.

Sasagawa is usually more than happy to take it off the five-year-old’s hands. He’s the most physically fit Guardian, and he never passes up an opportunity to demonstrate that fact. So, when Reborn suggests that they intensify Lambo’s training with the Bazooka, Sasagawa is the first to offer to lug it to the park.

“Isn’t this, like, a terrible idea?” Tsuna looks around wildly, worrying at his lower lip while Sasagawa unzips the Bazooka from the bag they’d had customized for it. “What if someone sees?”

“I’ve quarantined the area,” Reborn says from where he’s balancing on Sasagawa’s shoulder while he props up the Bazooka. It’s impossible to tell if he’s lying, but Takeshi only shrugs when Tsuna shoots him a pleading glance.

“It’s probably fine if he says it is,” Takeshi says. He’s sitting on a wooden park bench with Lambo in his lap and Gokudera at his side. This is normally the time he’d be at baseball practice, but Takeshi finds that he doesn’t really miss it. This is definitely more entertaining.

“But he’ll make _me_ deal with it if it isn’t!”

“I’ll take care of it, Boss,” Gokudera assures him.

“Why should there be anything to take care of? Why couldn’t we do this at home? Or at school?”

Leon hops down off Reborn’s hat and into his right hand, where he morphs into one of Reborn’s favorite pistols. The hitman points it at Tsuna, who squeaks and dives behind the slide. It’s normal for Reborn to pull a gun on Tsuna, but Takeshi’s skin still crawls whenever it happens.

“Stop your whining, Tsuna. Lambo’s been wanting to go to the park lately, yes? This is his reward for when he succeeds with the Bazooka.”

Lambo nods along with that serious look he always gets on his face when he's trying to appear more grown up. It always makes Takeshi want to laugh, given the addition of the ridiculous cow onesie and fake horns, but he restrains himself today.

“It’s important that we figure out how far he can go with the Bazooka,” Reborn continues. “It stands to reason that he becomes more powerful with age. The more options Lambo has, the safer he’ll be in a fight.”

Tsuna frowns, eyes flashing. “He shouldn’t _have_ to fight right now. He’s only a kid!”

Takeshi completely agrees with Tsuna. It’s impossible to tell if Lambo even really wants to be doing this. He’s so eager to please he’d do just about anything asked of him, and they don’t know much about the Ten-Year Bazooka. They can’t really trust Lambo to tell them if he can’t handle the strain of using it.

Telling Reborn that is a useless endeavor, but Tsuna wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t at least try.

“C’mon, Lambo,” Sasagawa calls. “I’ve got it all ready for you.”

Lambo hops off Takeshi’s lap without any further prompting, scampering over to where Sasagawa and Reborn wait with his weapon. “Remember, Lambo, you’re aiming for thirty years.” Reborn finally hops down from Sasagawa’s shoulder as he explains the plan to Lambo one last time. “Try not to get yourself killed.”

Lambo pouts, sticking his tongue out at Reborn. “I won’t!”

For the first time that day, Sasagawa’s face flickers with uncertainty. He’s gotten as used to their situation as he can, Takeshi thinks. He’s been adamant about keeping the truth from his family, but he still shows up to all their meetings and training sessions with zero complaints. Sasagawa never voices any of his remaining doubts, but sometimes he can’t help but let them shine through. “Is this really okay?” His eyes flicker to Tsuna instead of Reborn. “There isn’t actually a risk of him getting hurt, is there?”

“Reborn’s just being a jerk,” Takeshi says, because he knows no one else will. “It’ll be fine.”

Reborn tilts his head in Takeshi’s direction. “I’ll let that slide just this once, Yamamoto.”

“I can do it!” Lambo insists, making a big show of wrestling the Bazooka from Sasagawa. “And then we can all play together.”

Takeshi raises his hand. “I call first dibs on the swings.”

“Would you please _shut up?_ ” Gokudera grumbles. He’s been on his phone for most of the afternoon. Takeshi doesn’t know who he’s been messaging, but he knows better than to pry.

"Okay!" Lambo shouts, startling Takeshi. "Here I go!"

He powers up the Ten-Year Bazooka and points it at himself, just as he has dozens of times before. Takeshi watches as Lambo goes up in smoke, and when the air clears, a grown man has taken the toddler's place. During his fight with Levi, Lambo had managed to go twenty years into the future. If this worked, he was able to go even further and swap places with his thirty-five-year-old self.

Takeshi can’t tell the man’s age by looking at him, but he looks similar to how he’d been during the battle for the Lightning ring. He has the same long, brown coat with the fluffy, beige hood, and his horns have cracks and grooves that they didn’t previously.

But the most glaring difference, Takeshi is quick to realize, is the blood on his face.

“ _Son of a_ – ” The adult Lambo stumbles, knocking into the Ten-Year Bazooka lying abandoned on the grass. He whips his head around, eyes bloodshot and wild, and fixes his gaze on Takeshi and Gokudera, still on the bench. “You – Where did – ”

Reborn steps up beside Sasagawa. “You’re in the past,” he explains while everyone else struggles to find their voices. “Two-thousand thirteen to be exact. Can you tell us how old you are?”

Lambo doesn’t react to the sound of Reborn’s voice. He just glances back and forth between Takeshi and Gokudera. After a moment, he lets out a slow breath and reaches up to drag the sleeve of his coat across his face. All it does it smear blood along the length of his cheek. “Thirty-five,” he replies, voice rough. “You’re training with the Bazooka?”

“That was the idea.”

Lambo’s nostrils flare, and he seems _furious_ for a second. And Takeshi knows that this is Lambo, but he struggles to find any semblance of the toddler he sees every day in that face. Lambo opens his mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a strangled noise. His face goes terribly pale, and he whips around again, staggering wildly. “Two-thousand thirteen?” he mumbles. “Then – ”

Takeshi can tell exactly when Lambo lays eyes on Tsuna, who’s still standing by the slide looking horrified. It’s a bodily reaction, the way the man’s shoulders slump, how his fingers twitch and don’t stop. “Boss.” The raw, unbridled longing in Lambo’s voice makes Takeshi’s eyes burn. “ _Tsuna-nii_.”

Tsuna’s keen eyes take in the sight of his Lightning Guardian, scanning the man from head to toe. “Lambo. What – What _happened_?”

Lambo slowly shakes his head. Previous versions of him have told them that he can’t say much about the futures he comes from. But there’s nothing he could say in this moment that tells them more than what his appearance already does.

“Training with the Bazooka is fine,” Lambo says, sounding strangled. “Ten years, twenty, it’s safe to switch with me then. But _don’t_ send him further than that when he’s this little.” The look he fixes Tsuna with is just shy of wild. “ _Please_ , Tsuna-nii.”

Takeshi sees the exact moment that Tsuna comes to some kind of decision within himself. His expression smooths out, and he steps up to Lambo to reach out and take his shaking hand. “I won’t.” Tsuna’s never sounded surer than he does as he peers up into an adult Lambo’s eyes just as he would as if he were still a child. “We’ll keep him safe right here with us. I _promise._ ”

Lambo’s jaw clenches, but Takeshi can’t discern what the look on his face means before the man disappears in a cloud of smoke. Tsuna falls to his knees, chasing the hand he’d held so tightly. But thirty-five-year-old Lambo is gone, and in his place stands the Lambo they’re most familiar with.

For a brief moment, no one moves a muscle. Lambo stares up at Tsuna with wide eyes, and Tsuna’s gaze darts all over the toddler’s face. “Lambo – ” he begins, but at the sound of his voice, Lambo’s expression shudders and he throws himself into Tsuna’s arms.

“Tsuna-nii!” he wails, and it touches a deep, raw part of Takeshi’s soul in a way that the adult Lambo’s trembling hadn’t. “Tsuna-nii, I – I – ”

Tsuna shushes him, and Lambo just dissolves into unintelligible sobs, right there in the middle of the park.

Gokudera has gotten to his feet beside Takeshi, but he’s frozen in place as he takes in the scene before him. Sasagawa seems similarly rattled as he makes his way over to Lambo and Tsuna to crouch beside them and start petting through Lambo’s hair.

Takeshi and Reborn are the only ones who don’t move a single muscle. Takeshi just _can’t_ make his legs work, and he doesn’t know what Reborn’s excuse is. Is he paralyzed by regret? Guilt? Takeshi sure fucking hopes so.

They’ve all been in dangerous situations since Reborn came to tutor Tsuna. It’s something they’ve come to accept for the most part, but there’s something _different_ about what just happened, something foreboding.

They looked into the future, and it seems as if it’s telling them to run.

Tsuna lifts his gaze from the top of Lambo’s head and locks eyes with Reborn. “I think,” he says quietly, “that that’s enough for today.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we gooooo

Nana comes downstairs around ten that night. Her smile is thin and tired when she sees them all gathered in the living room, but Takeshi is reassured by it all the same.

“He finally fell asleep,” she says. Tsuna mutes the television as she comes closer, and Gokudera scoots over to make room for her on the couch. She rubs at her eyes as she sinks down into the cushions, and it’s with mild horror that Takeshi realizes Nana is starting to cry. “I’m sorry, boys, I just – ”

“Don’t be sorry, Mom.” Tsuna takes Nana’s hand when she reaches out to him. He’s practically vibrating with nervous energy, and Takeshi’s fingers tighten around the pillow he’s been clutching for the past few hours. “It’s not your fault. We were the ones who pushed Lambo too hard.”

Takeshi has half a mind to refute that, though Nana beats him to the punch. “You’re _all_ being pushed too hard,” she replies, wiping at her face with her free hand. “Reborn-san was the one who – oh, I could just throttle that man. Him and your father.”

The change in Tsuna’s expression at the mention of his father is subtle, but it’s there all the same. “We still agreed to it.”

“It isn’t usually like that,” Gokudera offers, seemingly helpless as he watches mother and son. “The Ten-Year Bazooka’s usually safe.”

“Is it, though?” Sasagawa questions. He’s straddling the back of one of the dining chairs, gaze listlessly trained on the muted television. “We don’t know much about any of this stuff. Not really.”

Gokudera shoots him a fierce look as if to say, _You’re not helping,_ but Sasagawa, of course, doesn’t catch it.

“They never answer any of my questions,” says Nana, as close to angry as Takeshi has ever seen her. “I know this is what you’ve decided, Tsu-kun. And I told you I’ll support you however I can, but if this is what getting involved with the Vongola means… “

Takeshi fully expects Tsuna to give in at that point. He never wanted to be the Tenth anyway, and if he’s been looking for a reason to back out, what happened with Lambo is as good a reason as any.

Lambo was inconsolable after returning from the future, clinging to Tsuna and only letting go once they’d made it back to the Sawada household. They weren’t able to get anything out of him – and Takeshi doubts they ever will – but it’s clear that whatever Lambo saw frightened him deeply.

It’s now impossible to ignore the implications of the path they’re walking, and Takeshi won’t blame Tsuna if he decides to get out.

But Tsuna – wonderful, inexplicable Tsuna – only offers Nana a placating smile. “It’s okay, Mom,” he says. “Nothing like that will happen again.”

The matter is then dropped for the night, and Nana heads back upstairs once her tears finally dry. “So, what now, Boss?” Gokudera asked quietly when they hear the sound of her bedroom door closing. “Shouldn’t we look into whatever Lambo saw?”

“How can we?” Sasagawa asks, folding his arms over the top of his chair and dropping his chin onto them. “He can’t tell us what happened, and I’m _definitely_ not using that thing to go look myself.”

Takeshi picks carelessly at one of the pillow’s loose threads. “I could – ”

“Absolutely not.” Tsuna shoots Takeshi a sharp glance that startles him into silence. Takeshi thinks he sees a brief flickering of Sky Flames on Tsuna’s forehead, but they’re gone too quickly for him to be certain. “The Bazooka’s benched for now. No one’s using it.”

“We _need_ it,” Gokudera immediately counters. Among the Guardians present, he’s the only one willing to challenge Tsuna on anything. Takeshi wonders if Tsuna would cave if Hibari were here saying the same things, though based on how Tsuna's been acting today, he sincerely doubts it. “Xanxus probably isn’t the only one who wants you dead, we have to – ”

Tsuna gets to his feet, hands clenched into fists at his side. “I promised Lambo.” He gazes at each of them in turn, appearing just as wane and exhausted as Nana had. But Tsuna’s eyes have always been his most expressive feature, and strength is all Takeshi sees in them. “We’ll get to that future eventually, but not anytime soon. I won’t change my mind.”

Gokudera’s jaw clenches as if he’d like to argue further, but Takeshi knows that he won’t. “… If that’s what you’ve decided.”

Takeshi catches Sasagawa’s eye, then. The older Guardian tilts his head purposefully toward Tsuna and Gokudera as they glare at one another. Takeshi clutches the pillow to his chest and shrugs his shoulders the slightest bit. What exactly is _he_ supposed to do?

“I wonder where Reborn went,” Takeshi muses, deciding to take a stab at it anyway. “You think he ran because he knew Nana would be mad?”

“She definitely would’ve kicked his butt,” Sasagawa adds. “I’d pay to see that, honestly.”

Tsuna looks away from Gokudera first. "He always disappears when I need him," he grouses. "I can't _stand_ him sometimes."

"He's a bit of a pain," Gokudera allows. He'd only ever do so in this setting, when it's just them. "And his methods are... questionable."

Sasagawa flashes Takeshi a thumbs up, but he's momentarily distracted by a buzzing in the pocket of his hoodie. While Tsuna unmutes the television, Takeshi takes out his cell phone and unlocks it with a swipe of his thumb.

**Chrome:** Is Sawada-sama upset?

**Takeshi:** ah kinda?

 **Takeshi:** Lambo had an accident with the bazooka

 **Takeshi:** why do you ask??

**Chrome:** Mukuro-sama told me to ask.

 **Chrome:** He said Sawada-sama was being…annoying.

**Takeshi:** …

 **Takeshi:** hes one to talk

 **Takeshi:** what does that even mean?

**Chrome:** I’m not sure.

 **Chrome:** He might have a connection with Sawada-sama like he does with me.

**Takeshi:** ???

**Chrome:** I’ll explain the next time I see you!

“Boss is _speaking_ to you,” Gokudera says in annoyance, drawing Takeshi’s attention away from his phone. “Who are you texting?”

“Oh, sorry. Dokuro just had a question.”

“Dokuro? You two talk?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Since when?”

Takeshi resists the urge to roll his eyes. He doesn’t like how pushy Gokudera can get when he’s on edge. “Does it matter? Sorry, Tsuna, what were you saying?”

Gokudera huffs at being brushed off, though Tsuna just looks amused for the first time since they came home from the park. “Do you and Sasagawa-senpai want to stay the night?” he asks. “It’s pretty late, and I don’t think you guys should walk home in the dark what with everything that’s going on.”

Sasagawa’s eyes gleam, and he grips at the back of his chair as he leans forward. “I’ve never spent the night at a friend’s before,” he says earnestly. “Are we gonna play games and stuff?”

“We still have school tomorrow,” Gokudera says, though his eyes shine with equal fervor. “This wouldn’t be the only all-nighter I’ve pulled, though.”

Takeshi listens to them all go back and forth for a minute before turning back to his phone.

**Takeshi:** hey quick question

 **Takeshi:** Rokudo wouldnt possess Tsuna like he does you would he?

**Chrome:** Never!

**Takeshi:** (눈_눈)

**Chrome:** Well…I personally don’t think he would.

 **Chrome:** He actually likes Sawada-sama quite a bit!

 **Chrome:** I don’t think he would’ve agreed to be a Guardian if he didn’t.

**Takeshi:** I guess youre right…

**Chrome:** :)

**Takeshi:** what??

**Chrome:** Nothing!

 **Chrome:** I just think your concern for Sawada-sama is admirable!

**Takeshi:** oh…well thanks (*^‿^*)

**Chrome:** (*^‿^*)

Those idiots from Kokuyo Junior High don’t know what they’re talking about. Takeshi would rather take Dokuro over Rokudo any day.

* * *

Reborn makes himself scarce in the days following the Lambo Incident, but Hibari comes up with a few theories of his own in the meantime.

“You said he was covered in blood?” the Cloud Guardian asks. He sits prim and proper behind his desk in the Disciplinary Committee office. He sent for Takeshi and Gokudera right after lunch with orders not to breathe a word of it to Tsuna, and while Takeshi hadn’t liked the sound of it, Gokudera agreed, tasking Sasagawa with keeping Tsuna occupied while they met with Hibari. “Did anything else strike you about his appearance?”

“He otherwise looked similar to how he did during our fight against the Varia,” Gokudera replies. "He seemed disoriented, like he'd been interrupted in the middle of something. He told the Tenth not to send Lambo more than twenty years into the future, and then he switched back with our Lambo right after."

“How about you, Yamamoto?” Hibari asks, dark eyes settling on Takeshi’s slouched form on his couch. “Did you notice anything else?”

Takeshi doesn’t really want to think about what he saw that day, but he knows this could be important. Barring Tsuna, Hibari is more observant of the world around them than anyone else. Gokudera says that any insight he could possibly bring to the table will be beneficial, and Takeshi can’t help but agree with him.

“It’s like Gokudera said,” Takeshi replies. “Lambo seemed… haggard. But he looked at Tsuna like… like… “

“Yamamoto?” Gokudera turns to look at Takeshi in mild concern as he trails off. “What is it?”

Takeshi feels sick. His Flame pulses at an increasing rate alongside his heart.

He’ll never know what his own face looked like the day Tsuna pulled him from the roof. But he remembers what he felt: relief, so strong it made Takeshi weak. Everything he’d felt since the day his mother died paled in comparison to how he’d instinctively reacted to Tsuna in that moment.

Takeshi has spent every day since chasing that feeling, following after Tsuna like he's a balm to a festering wound.

Lambo had looked at Tsuna in the exact same way. As if Tsuna was an answer.

“He looked at Tsuna like he missed him,” Takeshi eventually manages to say. “Like he’d disappear if he took his eyes off him for even a second.”

Gokudera’s face is blank, but Hibari’s mouth is set in a firm, grim line. “It seems to me,” the Cloud Guardian says, “that the future Lambo came from is one without Sawada.”

“That’s not possible,” Gokudera spits, perfectly mirroring how Takeshi feels inside. His hands twitch, palms and fingers dancing with crimson flame. “Tsuna isn’t _dead_ in thirty years.”

“Last I checked, he wasn’t immortal,” Hibari replies evenly, leaning back in his leather chair. As if in response to or provoked by Gokudera’s errant Flame, his eyes and ring flash violet. “We all have to die someday. Perhaps Sawada’s time comes sooner than we could’ve possibly anticipated.”

Gokudera slams a hand down on Hibari’s coffee table. The spot he touches lights up with Storm Flame, and it persists even after Gokudera pulls away. Takeshi stares down at the burning wood, and it’s only then that he realizes he’s stood up from the couch.

“You two act as if this isn’t just speculation on my part,” Hibari muses, eyeing the aftermath of Gokudera’s anger. The remnants of Gokudera’s Flame evaporate into the air, but the wood still glows a pale red. It spreads in increments as Takeshi watches, eats up the table’s surface and leaves nothing in its wake. “Are you sure you don’t have your own doubts?”

“Tsuna can’t die,” says Takeshi. “What’s the point of us being Guardians if we can’t protect him?”

“We can stop it, right?” Gokudera asks, staring imploringly at Hibari. “Now that we know it’s a possibility?”

“Who’s to say?” Hibari presses his closed fist to his mouth, gazing down at his desk in apparent concentration. “I thought time travel impossible until a few months ago. There’s no telling how this incident may have changed future events. Perhaps our knowing is what drives Sawada to his death. Or maybe we're wrong and Lambo reacted to Sawada that way for a different reason.”

This is why Takeshi doesn’t make a habit of thinking too hard about things. There’s too much in life that goes beyond him, but still, Takeshi will go around in circles and run himself ragged trying to make sense of it all.

All Takeshi wants is to protect Tsuna, but he doesn't know how. 

“One of us should use the Bazooka,” Gokudera says, turning to Takeshi. “I could go. Boss would hate it, but we _have_ to know what’s coming.”

“The Ten-Year Bazooka has a time limit,” Hibari points out. “And you're transported to wherever your future self happens to be at the time. There’s no way to guarantee that you’ll find the necessary information before you're forced to return.”

“But you’d be left with my future self, right? He’ll tell you everything you need to know!”

“You can’t guarantee that, either. All future versions of Lambo have refused to divulge anything concrete. Your future self might feel similarly.”

A vein throbs at Gokudera’s temple. “I’d do anything to save the Tenth.”

Hibari says nothing. He isn’t convinced, and judging by the way Gokudera falls back down to his chair in frustration, he isn’t entirely sure of himself either. No matter how much it irritates them, Hibari usually goes with the most logical train of thought – so long as the promise of violence isn’t involved. If he doubts Gokudera’s resolve, then there’s probably a reason for it.

Takeshi’s hands clench into fists at his sides. “I could go.”

Gokudera glares over at Takeshi. “Didn’t you hear what he just said? All of this applies to you, too.”

“Do you like being alive?”

“What – _What kind of question is that_?”

“I don’t,” Takeshi says, and Gokudera’s mouth shuts with an audible click. “Or I didn’t until recently. I felt that way for _years_.”

The stares Gokudera and Hibari fix Takeshi with are wholly different, but Takeshi doesn’t stop to dissect what they may mean. “The _only_ reason I’m alive is because of Tsuna,” he continues. “I’d do anything to protect him, and I’d do it happily. I can’t see that changing, not in ten or even thirty years, especially if I have to live in a world without him. If any future version of us is going to break their stupid rules, it’ll be me.”

Gokudera says nothing. The leather of Hibari’s chair squeaks as he shifts around. “I actually agree with him,” Hibari says conversationally. “He’s always struck me as the fatally loyal type.”

Gokudera’s voice breaks as he says, “What happened to no guarantees?”

“I still stand by that, but we’re all aware of Yamamoto’s devotion to Sawada. I’m comfortable placing my bet on him in this case. If it doesn't work, we'll just have to think of something else.”

Takeshi watches as Gokudera slowly closes his eyes. His chest rises and falls as he takes a deep, shuddering breath, and then he gets back to his feet. “ _We,_ ” Gokudera hisses, “are going to talk about this. _After_ we save the Tenth.”

Takeshi nods. “Whatever you say.”

* * *

The plan is simple, although it hinges on their ability to stay clear of Tsuna.

Hyper Intuition is their biggest obstacle, one that Takeshi and Gokudera are powerless against. Hibari has a much better poker face, though it would only be a matter of time before Tsuna noticed something was up with him.

In this case, their saving grace is that it’s a school day. They need access to the Bazooka, and they can only get to it while Tsuna isn’t home. Hibari elects to excuse the two of them from the rest of the day’s classes so they can take care of things before Tsuna has a chance to catch them. “Be quick about it,” Hibari tells them. “Sawada may be a herbivore, but he’s dangerous when it comes to us. You may not have another chance.”

It’s the closest Hibari’s come to giving Tsuna an actual compliment, but there’s very little time to ponder that. 

Takeshi and Gokudera leave the school from the back entrance. Their classroom overlooks the courtyard, and with Tsuna’s attention span, the likelihood of him staring out the window is too high to take the risk. The two Guardians don’t speak much as they run to Tsuna’s house, and it does nothing to help Takeshi’s nerves.

He knows the other boy is angry with him – although furious would probably be a better term. Takeshi doesn’t think what he said is that big of a deal, but he knows more than a few people who would disagree. As soon as this is over, Takeshi’s probably going to hate his life for a little bit. But he’d rather deal with his friends’ anger now than his own grief later on.

Gokudera unlocks the front door with his key, but he doesn’t call a greeting like Takeshi expects. “Nana took Lambo and I-Pin to the zoo today,” he says tersely. “She wanted to take his mind off what happened.”

“That makes this easier,” Takeshi says. He doesn’t bother taking off his shoes before following Gokudera up the stairs. “You know where the Bazooka is?”

“It’s in Tsuna’s room. He was hiding it from Lambo.” Gokudera scoffs, leading the way down the hall to Tsuna’s bedroom. “Why does that thing even fucking exist?”

“It’s… helpful,” Takeshi offers, though he agrees that Lambo’s weapon has turned out to be more trouble than they could’ve anticipated. “It’ll help us save Tsuna, at least.”

Takeshi has never been to Tsuna’s room without the other boy present. But it’s easy to identify the space as Tsuna’s, even if he isn’t around. The bed is unmade, and there are clothes and random manga volumes strewn everywhere. His textbooks for class – the same ones Takeshi knows they needed today – are stacked on his desk, and Takeshi can’t help but smile at the sight of them.

Gokudera digs around in the closet briefly before coming back out with the Ten-Year Bazooka. He hefts the latter end up onto his shoulder, “Okay,” he says, almost to himself. “I’m gonna shoot you.”

Takeshi grins, spreading his arms wide. “Hit me with your best shot.”

Gokudera’s brows furrow, and for a moment, the two of them just stare at one another. The Storm Guardian’s finger twitches but makes no real move toward the trigger. “Don’t get yourself hurt,” Gokuders says eventually, “or Tsuna will kill us both.”

Takeshi nods. He feels slight trepidation as he stares into the weapon, but he’s quick to push it away. Lambo has used it numerous times without complaint, so Takeshi has no right to be apprehensive. He’s about to go into the unknown, but at least he knows Gokudera will be here when he returns.

Takeshi breathes out a long sigh. “Alright,” he says. “Try to get as much information from my future self as you can.”

“Of course,” Gokuders replies, and then Takeshi hears the click of the Bazooka’s trigger.

* * *

For a moment, there's only darkness. Takeshi wonders, briefly, if he made a mistake in offering to switch places with his forty-four-year-old self.

If Tsuna really is dead in the future, then there's a very good chance that Takeshi's future self is as well. What happens to him if there's no one to switch with?

But Takeshi is _aware._ He can hear things: wind against a windowpane, someone walking around just above his head. He’s sitting down in a comfortable chair, and he claws at the fabric on the chair’s arms, gritting his teeth against his own rising panic as his vision remains dark.

“Calm down,” a voice says, startling Takeshi. “You’ll adjust soon enough. The Ten-Year Bazooka isn’t kind to amateurs.”

Slowly, Takeshi’s vision starts to return. But it doesn’t come quietly. The more Takeshi adjusts, the more he can see, the more the room spins and his stomach churns.

There’s a person sitting before him. They’re dressed in a black suit, and their legs are casually crossed at the knee. They sit at a slight angle, propped up by the elbow they have planted in the plush fabric of their chair.

Takeshi’s seen this person a few times before, but only as a giant projection during the Battle for the Rings. He's much older, certainly, but Takeshi would _never_ mistake the glint of that crimson eye.

“Go ahead, then,” Rokudo Mukuro says with a tip of his head. “I know you have a lot of questions.”

Takeshi pitches forward and vomits.


	6. Chapter 6

“I’m sorry about… well,” Rokudo Mukuro says, eyeing Takeshi with mild disgust as he drags an arm across his mouth. “I have nothing for you to clean yourself with. We certainly didn’t account for this.”

“I’ve got it,” Takeshi mumbles, calling forth his Flames. They travel the length of his body, washing away the vomit on his school slacks and shoes. Colonnello had taught him how, presenting it as a “neat little trick for when you’re stuck in the trenches.” Takeshi never actually thought he’d find himself having to use it.

“Hm.” Rokudo narrows his eyes thoughtfully. “You’re much better at controlling your Flame than I remembered.”

“Where are we?” Takeshi asks, finally glancing around to take in the whole room. It appears to be some sort of office. The walls are lined with bookcases, shelves, and varying types of filing cabinets. There’s even a desk, but Rokudo sits in front of it instead of behind.

Rokudo leans back in his chair. “Welcome to the Vongola Estate,” he says. “Or its ruins, I should say. I’ve returned this room, at least, to its former glory just for you. I wouldn’t recommend taking a look outside.”

Takeshi narrows his eyes. “You knew I was coming?”

“Your future-self thought you might,” Rokudo chuckles. “We found ourselves in a bit of trouble a few days ago. Lambo disappeared during an extremely inopportune moment, and we were stuck with a toddler instead. Chrome ensured he was safe, but we figured the sight of _our_ Lambo would drive you to pay us a visit.”

“So… you’ve just been waiting here? In this room?”

“For the most part.” Rokudo crosses his arms over his chest. “We made our way here to wait since this area is largely abandoned. The others are patrolling, but I doubt they’ll be stopping by. It’s just you and me for now.”

A part of Takeshi can’t believe this is happening. This is the first time he’s meeting Rokudo Mukuro in person, and it isn’t even the boy as he knows him. Takeshi had figured he’d run into Gokudera or Hibari, maybe even Lambo, but not Rokudo.

Rokudo snaps his fingers, then, startling Takeshi. “Don’t just gape at me. You came here for a reason, and who knows how long we have.”

“You’re gonna tell me what I want to know?” Takeshi blurts out. “Isn’t that, like… against the rules? Lambo never tells us about the future.”

Rokudo rolls his eyes. “That’s because we all made a stupid promise to the Boss a very long time ago. They’re all deadly serious about keeping it.” A sly grin overtakes Rokudo’s expression, and Takeshi tries _very_ hard to keep himself from shivering. “Luckily for you,” he adds, “I had my fingers crossed.”

Takeshi barks out a bitter laugh. “I knew we needed to keep an eye on you.”

Rokudo shrugs, completely unbothered. “Like I said, we may not have much time. Just sit there and be good for a moment while I tell you what you need to know. First,” he raises a finger, “is this name: Byakuran.”

“Byakuran,” Takeshi echoes. “Is he the one who kills Tsuna?”

“It’s certainly his _fault,_ ” Rokudo says before raising another finger. “Two: Don’t trust the Gesso and Giglio Nero Families. Byakuran has sway over them both, and if given the chance, he’ll merge them into a Family that he calls Millefiore. They’re more powerful than even the Vongola, and the Boss will die by the time he’s twenty-three if Byakuran makes it that far into his plan.”

“What _is_ his plan?”

Rokudo doesn’t seem to appreciate being interrupted – again – but he makes no comment. “World domination. A little cliché, if you ask me, but he stabbed me the last time I told him that, so I tend to keep my opinion to myself.”

Takeshi nods. “Right. Anything else?”

“Three… “ Rokudo lowers all of his fingers. “Well, three is just a piece of advice. And I know you don’t exactly trust me at this age, but you’d do well to listen.”

“… Fine.”

“The Boss has no need for a meat shield.” Takeshi blinks in surprise, meeting Rokudo’s even stare. He looks more serious than he has the entire time Takeshi’s been here. “You may think you’re being noble, but putting yourself in unnecessary danger actually puts the Boss more at risk.”

Takeshi frowns. “I’m not trying to be _noble_.”

“Yes, I know what you’re _actually_ trying to do,” Rokudo retorts. “Either way, it’s foolish. You’re more useful to us healthy and alive. Internalize that, why don’t you?”

Takeshi grits his teeth. He’s gotten what he wanted by coming to the future, but why does Rokudo have to be the one giving him answers?

Apparently, it’s because he has no problem betraying a promise he made to Tsuna. Typical.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Rokudo says, shifting in his chair, “do you have any other questions?”

Takeshi is quiet as he considers it. He doesn’t really _want_ to know, but it’s his duty to ask. “How did Tsuna… “

His throat tightens, and Rokudo’s eyes narrow as he stares at Takeshi. “The Boss tried to reason with Byakuran,” he says, “but there’s no talking to someone like that. Sawada Tsunayoshi held onto his ideals despite the danger, and he paid the ultimate price for it. Byakuran has no need for people like the Boss in his new world order.”

Takeshi grits his teeth. He’s never heard of this Byakuran or his Family, but the idea that he ultimately killed Tsuna just for disagreeing makes him evil in Takeshi’s eyes. At least Xanxus had a real reason for wanting Tsuna dead.

“Now tell me,” Rokudo says. “You don’t know much about the Ten-Year-Bazooka’s power, do you? I doubt baby Kyouya would’ve let you all play with it like this if he did.”

“Shouldn’t you know that already?” Takeshi asks, feeling mildly irritated. He wishes Rokudo would just speak plainly for once.

Rokudo smirks. “You really have changed so very little.” Takeshi can’t even begin to decipher what _that_ means, but Rokudo goes on before he can get hung up over it. “The Bazooka doesn’t simply enable time-traveling. There are an infinite number of realms and possibilities that are birthed just from a single use of it. One could cut off their world from its previous universe and enter into a new one entirely by chance. It all depends on the actions you take.

“By coming here, you’ve removed yourself from this timeline,” Rokudo continues. “When you return, you’ll be walking a different path, a different _world,_ than we did. We made our choices, and we’ll have to keep living with them no matter what you all decide to do from here. Nothing you do can change what happened in our past.” He’s quiet for a long moment before adding, “Our Boss is gone, but we’d at least like to help you save yours.”

Takeshi stays quiet. He doesn’t really understand all the stuff about parallel universes and alternate timelines, but he makes a note to remember every single thing Rokudo says so he can detail it to Hibari later.

What he does understand is that Tsuna – or this world’s Tsuna, rather – is really and truly gone. Takeshi’s own will be there when he gets back, but his future-self, Rokudo, and all the others… they’ll never see Tsuna again.

“What was the promise?” Takeshi finds himself asking. “The one everyone else won’t break?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Rokudo replies, cryptic as ever. “Even though we’ll be separated by space-time after this, our future could have been yours, once. I have trouble believing that even this large of a deviation will change the fact that that man is a self-sacrificing moron.”

Takeshi can begrudgingly accept that sentiment, although he would’ve worded it differently. “He didn’t want us coming here.”

“Of course he didn’t,” says Rokudo, glancing off to the side. “We all have our own limits. I always struggled to understand his.”

Takeshi isn’t sure how Rokudo’s illusions work, if he’s staring off into the ruins of the estate or if he sees the room exactly as Takeshi does. What he _can_ tell is that Rokudo has suddenly gone far beyond what Takeshi will ever be allowed to see.

He chooses to say nothing about it. Takeshi knows how difficult it can be to hide those moments.

“This future of ours,” Rokudo says after collecting himself, turning back to fix Takeshi with his piercing blue and crimson stare, “is rather bleak. Much of civilization has been destroyed twice over, and anyone unaffiliated with Millefiore has gone underground.”

"But you’re still fighting?” Takeshi asks, thinking of Future Lambo, all exhausted and bloodied.

“What else can we do?” Rokudo’s grin is small and only slightly savage. “The seven of us are all that remains of our organization. To run now would put our legacy to shame.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted? I thought you hated the Vongola?”

Rokudo’s crimson eye flashes so brilliantly that Takeshi has to avert his eyes for a moment. “I do hate the Vongola,” the man growls. “That will never change. But the Boss dismantled the previous order with his own two hands, and what we built was Vongola only in name.”

Takeshi is cowed by the fury he sees in the Mist Guardian’s glare. He’s inadvertently stepped on a landmine, although he isn’t quite sure what ticked Rokudo off so much. His instinct is to apologize, but he also knows Rokudo wouldn’t appreciate or accept it.

All at once, Takeshi is once again struck by nausea. His vision swims in and out, and he feels off-kilter, like he’d fall straight to the floor if he tried to stand. As if sensing this, Rokudo breathes out an aggravated sigh before pushing himself to his feet. He makes no attempt to come closer, just slides his hands into the pockets of his suit pants and stares down his nose at Takeshi.

“I guess that’s all the time we have,” Rokudo says. “Maybe one day we can have a conversation without you pissing me off somehow.”

“I doubt it,” Takeshi replies, though his own voice is muffled, like there’s cotton in his ears.

“Fair enough. Some things never change, no matter the universe. But remember this, Takeshi,” Rokudo is saying as Takeshi’s awareness starts to fade. His voice grows louder and more powerful as Takeshi tries to hold onto it. It hurts, it’s too much, it feels like his head is splitting apart, but Takeshi can’t ignore the pain he hears there. “We failed to protect our Sky. Don’t make the same mistake.”

* * *

It doesn’t take as long for Takeshi to regain his bearings this time, and when he fully comes to, he’s sitting on Tsuna’s bed and staring up into eyes like liquid gold.

The room is more crowded than it was when he left. _Everyone_ is there: Tsuna, Gokudera, Sasagawa, Hibari, Dokuro, and even Lambo. They all hover beyond Tsuna’s shoulder, staring at Takeshi in varying levels of shock.

But Takeshi barely pays them any mind, because Tsuna is crying.

It’s not like Takeshi hasn’t seen his friend cry before. It usually happens when he gets frustrated, but those instances are becoming few and far between. As Takeshi looks at Tsuna now, it seems as if his entire face is wet with tears. His golden eyes are red-rimmed, and his shoulders jump as he tries to stifle his sobs.

Takeshi lifts a hand, though he doesn’t know what he plans to do with it. “Tsuna, what – ”

Tsuna erupts in Sky Flame before Takeshi can get out whatever he’d wanted to say. The light is momentarily blinding, so Takeshi doesn’t see the blow coming until it’s much too late to dodge.

He’s never been struck with Tsuna’s X-Gloves, but he’s seen what they can do. And while the punch hurts, Takeshi knows it isn’t the most Tsuna’s capable of, if only because he’s still conscious. “You _idiot,_ ” Tsuna roars, wild and furious through his tears. Takeshi pushes himself up from where he’s been knocked sideways on the bed, trying to ignore the pain in his jaw. “I told you not to touch the Bazooka!”

“I didn’t get hurt, though,” Takeshi says. He definitely tastes blood in his mouth. “I was safe the entire time.”

Tsuna grits his teeth, eyes blazing. His explosion of Sky Flames has died down, though they flicker and dance around his fists and forehead like they do when he fights. “But you couldn’t have known that,” he snaps.

Takeshi sucks in a breath when Tsuna lunges for him again, but Tsuna only grabs the collar of Takeshi’s school shirt in both hands. He pulls, jerking Takeshi forward until they’re almost nose to nose. It’s the closest they’ve ever been, and the closest Takeshi’s gotten to Tsuna’s Sky Flames. They’re warm as they brush Takeshi’s skin, but they don’t burn.

“I _feel_ it, you know,” Tsuna says, furious and heartbroken in equal measure, and Takeshi feels helpless. “When Lambo uses the Bazooka, I feel it when he leaves. Even if it’s only for a second, his Flame goes out. And it may come back stronger when his adult form arrives, but it’s not the same. He isn’t _mine,_ and my Dying Will _knows_ it _._ ”

Tsuna pulls back, taking the warmth of his Flame with him, but he doesn’t let go of Takeshi’s collar. Apparently, Takeshi isn’t the only one thrown by what his friend just said. Dokuro looks stricken from where she stands near the door, and Takeshi briefly wonders if Rokudo Mukuro is watching him from behind her eye. Lambo is in her arms, gripping her around the neck with surprising force, and his lips quiver even if he’s making a valiant attempt to hide it.

Sasagawa looks to Gokudera in bewilderment, but Gokudera only has eyes for Tsuna and Takeshi. Hibari, ever composed in the wake of their group’s insanity, shows no reaction aside from a slight deepening of his existing frown.

“Your Flame _left_ , Takeshi,” Tsuna whispers wretchedly. “I – I thought – ”

Takeshi feels his eyes widening. All at once, he knows exactly what Tsuna must’ve thought. He was there too, after all, that day Takeshi decided he’d had enough.

“I’m sorry, Tsuna,” Takeshi says, feeling like crying himself. “I didn’t – If I’d known – ”

His mouth is muffled by Tsuna’s shoulder as his friend yanks him into his arms. “I’m so mad at you,” he sobs, but his grip on Takeshi is fierce and unrelenting. The X-Gloves seep warmth from where they touch Takeshi’s body, penetrating so deeply it feels as if it reaches Takeshi’s _bones_. “What the _fuck,_ Takeshi?”

There’s nothing Takeshi can say. He doesn’t have an explanation. His reasons for using the Ten-Year Bazooka seem so flimsy in the face of Tsuna’s reaction.

It’ll be worth it in the end if they can preserve Tsuna’s life, but for now, Takeshi only feels ashamed.

* * *

Gokudera and Hibari go home with Takeshi after Tsuna kicks them all out. “I can’t look at you guys right now,” he’d said, and a part of Takeshi had cracked further in response, though he knows Tsuna is well within his right to be furious with them. They deliberately went against his wishes, and Takeshi feels absolutely wretched for it, even if he got the information they were looking for.

The lights are off at TakeSushi, both in the restaurant and in the living space upstairs, so Takeshi can only assume that his father has gone to bed for the night. Gokudera and Hibari settle at the bar while Takeshi goes to look for something to ice his face with. “Well, that could’ve gone better,” Gokudera grumbles, burying his face within his folded arms. “Ahh, the Tenth was so _mad_.”

“We knew he would be,” says Hibari. “We just didn’t account for his… sensitivity to our individual Flames, I suppose.”

“Yeah, what was up with that?” Takeshi asks as he comes to face them behind the bar. He presses a packet of frozen mackerel to his jaw. “What happened after I left?”

Gokudera and Hibari exchange a glance. “Well,” Hibari begins, “I can only speak for myself, but I was in my office when I felt Sawada. It wasn’t exactly concrete, but… I knew he was in distress. I’d never felt anything like it before, so naturally, I followed where it led.”

Gokudera nods. “That’s how it felt for me, too, but I was stuck babysitting adult-you, so I couldn’t do anything about it. But Boss showed up not long after you left, and everyone else came running soon enough.”

“I did not _run._ ”

“You were the first one there after Boss!”

“Did my future-self tell you anything?” Takeshi asks.

“Nothing _important,_ ” Gokudera grumbles. “He wouldn’t crack no matter what I said. You were just as infuriating as always.”

Takeshi… doesn’t know what to do with that information. He’d been so certain that his future-self would be the answer to their current problem, but that hadn’t been the case at all. Future-Takeshi had been able to guess that his past self would insist on using the Bazooka, but he’d relied on Rokudo to give him any necessary information.

Takeshi can’t imagine trusting anyone with Tsuna’s life that much, _especially_ not Roduko. But that’s exactly the case in the future. What happens to them to cause such a drastic shift is anyone’s guess.

“What about you?” Hibari asks. “Did you find anything out?”

Takeshi forcefully ignores his doubts and begins to tell the other Guardians about his experience in the future.

* * *

Gokudera goes back to the Sawada house later that night. He lives there, after all, and even if Tsuna is angry, he doesn’t expect Gokudera to make himself scarce for too long.

Hibari leaves soon after with promises to think over what Takeshi’s told them and come up with a few viable strategies. “We’ll wait to talk to Sawada until after we have a plan,” Hibari says. “Maybe he’ll be more lenient with you if we have actual results.”

Takeshi doubts it – also, it isn’t just _him_ Tsuna’s upset with – but he resolves not to think too deeply about it. He stays down in the restaurant for a while before heading up to his room. He doesn’t feel comfortable putting the mackerel back in the freezer, so he uses it to make his and his father’s lunches for the next day.

Only after does Takeshi go upstairs, rubbing gingerly at his aching jaw. He pops into the bathroom to sneak a glance at the mirror. Takeshi winces at the brief glimpse he catches of the blooming bruise on his face before he ducks back out and retreats to his bedroom. Maybe it is for the best that he avoids Tsuna for a while. He knows his friend will feel guilty over what happened, and seeing the evidence will only make it worse.

For the first time in weeks, Takeshi heads first to his window. He lifts a knee onto the bench his father built into the wall for Takeshi’s and his mother’s star-viewing habit and unlatches the window, sliding it open.

As Takeshi settles onto the bench, he marvels at how the two of them used to fit on it together. His mother would pull him into her lap and point out constellations, and more often than not, Takeshi would just fall sleep right there with his head resting against her chest and her hand in his hair.

At fourteen, Takeshi finds that he now takes up the entire bench on his own, and he isn’t sure how he feels about it.

Takeshi crosses his arms over the windowsill and rests his chin on them, peering up at the night sky. He feels like they used to be able to see the stars better when he was little. The sky is even more light polluted now, and while it isn’t as a big a problem as it is in bigger cities, Takeshi wonders what his mother would think, if she’d go on one of her impressive tangents while his father made breakfast.

She could go on and on about pretty much anything: a rude customer from the day before, a three-legged cat she saw when she took Takeshi to the park, every single continuity error from a movie she’d seen only once.

The weird thing was that Takeshi could listen to her for hours, even if he didn’t know what she was talking about. At the time, it just seemed like she’d known everything about everything. And although Takeshi knows better now, he doesn’t find her any less amazing.

His mother would definitely have something to say about this whole mafia mess. Nana would have a comrade in arms in the battle to preserve their remaining childhoods, that’s for sure. Takeshi doesn’t know if his mother would try to dissuade him from getting involved, although he’d like to think she would take Nana’s approach and support them from the sidelines.

But in the end, all Takeshi will ever be able to do is wonder. He’ll never know what she would’ve thought or how she would’ve reacted. For all that the world has opened up to them, there still isn’t a way to travel back in time.

 _I wish,_ Takeshi finds himself thinking, _that I could hear her voice again._

The sound of his ringtone startles him, and Takeshi gets up to cross the room to his bed, where he’d thrown his phone earlier. He stoops over to pick it up and answers without looking to see who it is. “Hello?”

“Hey, Yamamoto-kun,” Tsuna’s voice says, low into Takeshi’s ear. “Um, are you busy?”

“No,” Takeshi says, trying to keep his surprise out of his voice. Does Hyper Intuition work over the phone? “Is everything okay?”

“Is anything ever?” Tsuna counters, and Takeshi laughs despite himself. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for earlier. There’s no excuse for what I did.”

“I get it, though,” Takeshi replies, making his way back to the window. He settles in with one arm thrown out into the cool, night air. “We went behind your back. I should be the one apologizing.”

“That’s – No.” Tsuna makes a frustrated noise. “You don’t have to apologize. Gokudera-kun explained things to me, and I get why you guys thought you had to do it. But no matter how upset I was, I shouldn’t have hit you.”

“It didn’t hurt that bad,” Takeshi says, which is a complete and utter lie, one that he doesn’t expect Tsuna to buy into.

“Even _so,_ ” Tsuna insists, in a tone that suggests he definitely doesn’t believe the bullshit Takeshi’s spewing, “it won’t happen again. I’m sorry, Yamamoto-kun, I really am.”

It’s just a matter of fact that Takeshi forgives Tsuna – he doesn’t think there’s much to really forgive anyway – but the fact that Tsuna called him this late just to apologize makes Takeshi smile so widely that his face hurts. “You know,” he says conversationally, “you called me by my name earlier.”

“… I did?”

“Mhm. To my face and everything.”

“Yamamoto-kun,” Tsuna grumbles, “don’t tease me. I’m still not very happy with you.”

“I’m not!” Takeshi exclaims. “I just think… well, I think you should keep doing it. We’re close enough, aren’t we? I’ve been calling you ‘Tsuna’ for ages.” Tsuna is quiet, and Takeshi glances up at the stars again, wondering if this is something he shouldn’t care about as much as he does. “You don’t have to if you don’t want – “

“Takeshi.” The Rain Guardian goes silent, breath hitching as he waits for whatever else Tsuna might say. “Did you know you’re my best friend?”

“Uh, no,” Takeshi says, bewildered. “But, I mean, you’re mine, too.”

Tsuna laughs, and Takeshi presses his phone more insistently to his ear, wishes he could hear it in person. “That’s good to know,” Tsuna says, voice going soft and warm around the edges. “Your future self… he didn’t have much to say, but he looked at me like Lambo did.”

There’s weight to what Tsuna is saying, and Takeshi can’t possibly ignore that. “… You know, then?”

“How could I not?” Tsuna counters. “You don’t react like that to someone you see every day.”

Takeshi nods distractedly, though he says nothing. Rokudo didn’t explicitly tell him how long Tsuna had been dead for, but he did say Tsuna would be dead by the time he was twenty-three if they didn’t find a way to deal with Byakuran. Considering that, Tsuna would’ve been dead for twenty-one years in that future.

How had it felt to be his adult self, seeing the person he’d devoted so much of his life to, for what was possibly the very last time?

“It got me thinking,” Tsuna continues. “If any of you were to – disappear, would I have told you everything I wanted to?” Takeshi, inexplicably, thinks of his mother. “Would I have any regrets? I don’t want to end up wishing I’d said something when I had the chance. You know?”

“Yeah,” Takeshi murmurs. Of course he knows. He’s lived most of his life feeling regretful over one thing or another. Takeshi has so many regrets that he probably wouldn’t die if Reborn were to shoot him with a Deathperation Bullet every day for the rest of his life.

Takeshi was never the child who ran from death. When his mother got sick, he visited her every day in the hospital, and he talked to her about every thought that ran through his head, no matter how small.

What changed between then and now? Why is that kind of bravery beyond him? Takeshi had gone into the future and seen firsthand what a world without miracles brings, and yet he still can’t bring himself to say what’s been lingering on his tongue for what feels like forever.

Yamamoto Touka had died knowing Takeshi loved her, but had Future Sawada Tsunayoshi?

There’s no knowing, and Takeshi will just have to keep living with that.

* * *

“Do you think Rain Flame users make good hitmen?”

“I think anyone can be a good hitman so long as they’re not a complete moron,” Colonnello replies. “Why?”

Takeshi stares up at the clouds from where he lies on Namimori Middle’s roof. Hibari sections it off for training purposes four times a week. He argues that it’s the safest place to train since the entire school is under his jurisdiction, although Takeshi doesn’t know why they can’t just use the gym or the dojo.

He’d like a softer surface on which to land when Colonnello consistently lays him flat, thank you very much.

“I was just wondering,” Takeshi says. “Tsuna needs a hitman.”

“Reborn got to you, huh?” Colonnello snorts, oiling down his gun next to Takeshi’s head. “He sure didn’t waste any time. You actually considering it, then? You’re the worst sharpshooter I’ve ever fucking seen.”

Takeshi puffs up his cheeks. “I can be a hitman just fine with Shigure Kintoki.”

“I’m sure you could,” Colonnello says drily, although it doesn’t seem like he’s just humoring him. “I think you’d be pretty decent at it, if your fight with that Squalo kid is anything to go by.”

“What?” Takeshi turns his head against the concrete, brow furrowed as he stares at the side of Colonnello’s face. “Why does everyone say that?”

Colonnello looks down at him in the same way Reborn looks at Tsuna: like he’s questioning his entire existence. “You used Tranquility back then,” he says. “You didn’t realize?”

Takeshi blinks in surprise. He’d chalked up his fuzzy memory of the fight to his overall exhaustion, but now that he thinks about it, it’s easy to recognize Tranquility’s effect on his mind. “Oh,” he says. “I guess that makes sense.”

“That’s when I knew you’d win,” Colonnello explains. “You were the superior Rain Flame user by far. You were completely untrained, and yet you managed to use your Flame on yourself. You slowed down most of your brain function, removing everything that was entirely unnecessary and leaving only instinct behind.”

“And that helped me beat Squalo?”

Colonnello nods. “If you didn’t have the gift for assassination, you definitely would’ve died. But you’re a natural, so it worked out. Don’t worry about it, kid. You’ll make a fine hitman in time, if that’s really what you want.”

Takeshi hums, shifting his gaze back to the endless expanse of blue sky. He isn’t exactly sure what he wants, but the clouds in his mind are definitely starting to clear.


	7. Chapter 7

**Tsuna:** Reborn is back

**Chrome:** And is this…a good thing?

**Tsuna:** yes and no

 **Tsuna:** we can finally tell him what happened but

 **Tsuna:** he brought my dad with him (눈_눈)

**Takeshi:** booooo

**Ryouhei:** BOOOOOOOO

**Takeshi:** what’s he even gonna do?

**Hayato** : So far he’s managed to make Nana cry

 **Hayato:** and he’s only been here for about two hours

**Ryouhei** : kill him

**Chrome:** oh wow

**Tsuna:** Everything’s just a lot right now

 **Tsuna:** would you all mind coming over? I know it’s a Sunday but…

**Ryouhei:** ill be there!!

**Chrome:** I’ll head over as well!

**Ryouhei:** should someone call hibari or

**Kyouya:** Don’t.

**Takeshi:** this wouldn’t happen if you replied every once in a while you know

**Kyouya:** There’s no point. Just assume I’m always watching.

**Ryouhei:** o(〒﹏〒)o

**Takeshi** : o(〒﹏〒)o

**Tsuna:** you guys…

**Chrome:** o(〒﹏〒)o

**Hayato:** STOP WASTING TIME AND GET OVER HERE

* * *

Tsuna’s father is probably the least helpful of the mafioso they’ve met so far. Logically, Takeshi knows Iemitsu is in a position of power within the Vongola. It’s just that nothing he’s done seems to support that fact. Takeshi doesn’t look at the man and get a sense of underlying danger the way he does with Reborn or Colonnello or even Hibari.

Sawada Iemitsu is just… ordinary. Notable only in the way he brings obvious upset to those closest to him.

It’s honestly kind of hilarious to watch the man move around the Sawada house. He’s so out of place compared to the rest of them, and the disdain he’s garnered among the Tenth Generation Guardians he had a hand in selecting is obvious.

Lambo glares at him from his spot in Nana’s lap. Even Dokuro, who’s probably the nicest of them all, regards Iemitsu with a detached sort of politeness, like she’s staring right through him. Sasagawa watches the man's every move like he would when facing off against an opponent, and Hibari just doesn’t acknowledge him at all.

Gokudera is unreadable, though Takeshi thinks he understands what must be boiling beneath the surface. The Storm Guardian was raised within the mafia. Respect for the higher-ups was most likely beaten into his bones, and so far, very little has prompted Gokudera to break free from that.

But it's been happening, little by little. Takeshi recognizes Tsuna’s influence on a person, and it’s only a matter of time before Gokudera finally cracks.

Until then, Gokudera just stands at Tsuna’s back with Takeshi and says nothing. He's the perfect image of respect.

“Can we finally talk?” Tsuna grouses, and Takeshi can’t see his friend’s expression, but from the way Iemitsu frowns, he knows it can’t be pleasant. “Or are you going to vanish again?”

“I was gone for two weeks,” Reborn drawls. “Haven’t you been asking me to leave since day one?”

“Like you’d even listen! You didn’t even stick around to make sure Lambo was okay.”

“Meanie,” Lambo hisses from the protective curve of Nana’s arms.

Reborn looks as if he’d like to pull a weapon on the both of them, but Takeshi thinks the only thing that stops him is the barely concealed fury radiating from Nana. “I apologize,” the hitman says, and Takeshi shares a bewildered glance with Sasagawa, who looks just as confused. They’ve never heard Reborn apologize for anything, ever. “I didn’t account for a future like that. I pushed Lambo into danger, and for that, I’m sorry.”

“Isn’t that great, Lambo-chan?” Nana says, and the sound of her voice has Iemitsu shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "If you accept his apology now, you can definitely be friends again."

Lambo visibly brightens, although Reborn looks like he's swallowed a lemon. He may look like a toddler, but Takeshi has no idea how old the man really is. Regardless, it's obvious that he isn't great at dealing with children. "Okay," Lambo says, "I forgive you."

"I appreciate it," Reborn says blandly.

“Don’t you two want to… sit?” Iemitsu asks, eyes flickering between Takeshi and Gokudera, who stand attentively on either side of Tsuna.

“I’m good like this,” Takeshi replies, folding his arms behind his back. Gokudera maintains his silence and doesn't move a single muscle.

Iemitsu breaths out an aggrieved sigh. “Right.” He seems to gather himself, then, shoulders squaring and eyes taking on a glint that Takeshi has started to see on Tsuna with more frequency. “We’ve been making preparations,” Tsuna’s father says. “You won the right to be the Tenth Boss, but that doesn’t mean you’ve been officially accepted. There are still a number of tests you have to go through to be recognized as our next Boss.”

“That’s certainly not what we were lead to believe,” Hibari says, speaking for the first time. He sits in-between Dokuro and Sasagawa with his arms crossed over his chest. His dark eyes watch Iemitsu and Reborn keenly, but it’s impossible to tell what he’s thinking.

“Yeah,” Sasagawa adds. “I thought it was ‘win the rings, win the position.’ So, what gives?”

“The Battle for the Rings was only part of it,” Iemitsu replies. “There’s a lot of tradition involved.”

Sasagawa huffs, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Would’ve been kinda nice to _know_ that.”

“They like us not knowing.” Takeshi stares at the back of Tsuna’s head and wonders how he must look as he speaks, if Reborn and Iemitsu are silently wondering what happened to the meek and reluctant boy they once knew. “We can’t complain that way.”

“Tuna Fish – “

“Don’t call me that,” Tsuna cuts off his father unapologetically, and Takeshi pinches his own palm to keep from laughing. “I’m not a kid anymore. And if I’m going to move forward with this, I need something from the Vongola.”

“If it’s in our power to give it,” Iemitsu replies after a long moment, “we will.”

“Release Rokudo Mukuro from Vindice Prison.” Iemitsu’s mouth pops open, but Reborn shows no visible reaction. “I won’t do the tests otherwise. My Guardians belong with me.”

Dokuro giggles suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention to her. She slaps a hand over her mouth, eye widening. “I apologize,” she says, though she doesn’t sound very sorry at all. “Don’t mind me.”

“Do you understand what you’re asking, Tsunayoshi?” Iemitsu demands. This, more than anything else so far, rubs Takeshi the wrong way. This man has placed so much responsibility on Tsuna’s shoulders with very little warning. Tsuna’s adjusted as well as he can, way more than anybody expected, and he’s done it on his own with no help from Iemitsu. The man has no business questioning Tsuna now. “Rokudo Mukuro single-handedly wiped out the Estraneo Family. He’s being held for a _reason._ ”

“I understand that the Estraneo probably deserved it,” Tsuna retorts, and the only ones who seem shocked or unnerved by this are the adults in the room. Tsuna’s Guardians have heard this song and dance before. They all know what Rokudo has done and is capable of doing, but they also know his reasons for doing it. “Maybe they should’ve been held accountable in a different way, but ultimately, they were killed by a child they’d tortured for _years._ It’s horrible, but so were their experiments.”

Iemitsu stares at Tsuna like he’s a stranger, and Takeshi has an almost unbearable urge to step between them, to hide Tsuna from his father’s judgment. But he knows Tsuna wouldn’t appreciate it, so he refrains.

“It could hurt your relations with the other Families. They would never agree to let him leave Italy,” Reborn cuts in. “The fact that he’s allied himself with the Vongola at all has them on edge.”

“Rokudo isn’t allied with the Vongola,” Takeshi blurts out. He suddenly can’t stop thinking about Future Rokudo, the distant air that overcame him when he talked about Tsuna, the pain in his voice when he implored Takeshi not to repeat their mistakes. “He hates them.”

“Even more reason to keep him locked up!” Iemitsu exclaims. “Nana, you can’t want this kid around – “

“I think,” Nana says mildly from her seat beside Tsuna, “that Tsu-kun is a great judge of character, despite what you and Timoteo did to him when he was little.”

Iemitsu seems reasonably cowed, although Takeshi doesn’t understand what Nana is talking about. They’d done something to Tsuna, even before all this started?

“You had his Dying Will sealed,” Nana goes on to say, “and that hurt him more than either of you can ever know. I know that now. But, Iemitsu… Tsu-kun isn’t a little boy anymore. He understands more than you think, and if he’s making this call, the kids and I trust his judgment.”

Takeshi realizes what’s happening before Iemitsu does. Aside from Reborn, Nana has spent the most time with them. She’s seen the mafia in ways Iemitsu tried to hide from her for years, and like Tsuna, she’s started to adjust.

Through all of this, Nana is the only one who’s treated them like children. Her home has become a safe space of sorts, and she cooks for them, asks after them, cares for them in a way that Takeshi has come to realize is rare within the mafia world.

Nana’s speaking for them when no one else has ever bothered. She’s drawing a line in the sand, and there’s no telling on which side her own husband will land.

For Takeshi, it’s always been a matter of Us versus Them. He just hadn’t expected Nana to feel the same way.

“Nana… “ Iemitsu says, seemingly at a genuine loss, but the weight of whatever emotion he’s experiencing chokes him silent.

“It isn’t impossible.” Reborn presses a closed fist to his mouth in thought. He cuts a path through the tension in the room just as he always does, and Takeshi finds that he’d actually kind of missed Tsuna’s unfathomable tutor. “I doubt we could relocate Rokudo to Japan anytime soon, but we can certainly negotiate to give him more room to contact Tsuna and the others.”

“Reborn!”

“He’s Tsuna’s Mist Guardian whether you like it or not,” Reborn points out, rolling his eyes at Iemitsu’s protest. “The least we can do is try to make their lives easier.”

“The girl was my choice,” Iemitsu snaps, and Dokuro’s hands curl into fists atop her lap. “You’re the one who pushed for Rokudo.”

Reborn shrugs. “And we both got our way. Listen, just make yourself useful for a change and help me talk to Timoteo. If he agrees and Rokudo gets out of hand, I’ll just be contracted to kill him anyway. There’s very little risk involved.”

Takeshi fundamentally disagrees – Rokudo as he exists in this timeline is more of a wild card than anyone else – but he won’t say anything if this is what Tsuna wants. Rokudo ended up free in the future anyway, and it didn’t seem like he’d committed some huge atrocity – at least not comparable to the entire world’s destruction – so it’s more than likely that everything will work out fine.

But Takeshi can’t say any of that, not while Nana is here. They’ve all elected to spare her the details of Tsuna’s possible demise. Reborn will hear all about what they discovered, but that will have to come later.

“I don’t know if my opinion means anything to you,” Tsuna says to his father, “but I trust Rokudo. He hasn’t hurt me yet. Well… not much, anyway, but that was a while ago.”

Sasagawa cackles. “Oh, yeah, didn’t he make Hibari allergic to cherry blossoms? I totally forgot about that.”

“That was Dr. Shamal, not Rokudo,” Hibari retorts, though his expression darkens at the reminder. “He certainly took advantage, however.”

Dokuro’s lips quiver like she’s trying to keep from laughing again. Takeshi can only imagine what Rokudo must be whispering in her mind.

“Anyway,” Tsuna says with a slightly nervous laugh, “he’s an important member of our team. He’s given me a lot of good advice, actually.”

Takeshi and Gokudera exchange a glance. This is certainly news to them.

“I won’t ask,” Iemitsu sighs, shoulders slumping in apparent defeat. He won’t look at Nana anymore. “You’re absolutely _certain_ about this?”

Takeshi can practically feel Tsuna’s irritation. He’s been remarkably tame in his interactions with his father so far, though Takeshi feels like that’s mostly for Nana’s benefit. “My Guardians are the only thing I’m sure of in all this,” Tsuna replies tersely, and not even Iemitsu tries to argue with that.

* * *

Amidst everything that’s been happening, Takeshi forgets about Gokudera.

They haven’t been alone together since the day they used the Ten-Year Bazooka, and in that time, Takeshi hasn’t really thought about anything he’d said in Hibari’s office.

But the thing about Gokudera is that he doesn’t forget, and he never says anything he doesn’t mean.

The ambush comes when Takeshi isn’t expecting it. That day, it’s just the two of them in the classroom during lunch. There are a few lingering groups, but Takeshi doesn’t pay them any mind as he stares out over the courtyard below.

Tsuna is meeting with Reborn and Hibari in the older boy’s office to go over possible strategies for dealing with Byakuran. Takeshi hadn’t exactly felt like going over it all again, so he’d opted to stay behind even when Tsuna invited him along. The surprising part came when Gokudera declined to go as well. That, Takeshi thinks in hindsight, is when he should’ve known that something was up.

“Yamamoto,” Gokudera says, and Takeshi makes a vague noise to let him know he’s listening. “What did you mean when you said you didn’t like being alive?”

Takeshi’s elbow slips out from under him, though he manages to avoid smacking his chin against the desk. “What?” he splutters, glancing around, but no one is paying them any mind. “Really? You want to talk about this now?”

“I could wait until the Tenth comes back if you prefer.” Takeshi winces, and Gokudera leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Talk,” he insists. “I’m listening.”

 _Do I have to?_ Takeshi thinks, though he knows there’s no way out at this point. “It’s not that big a deal,” he mutters, going back to staring out the window. “I’m over it.”

He can practically feel Gokudera’s responding glare. “Somehow I’m having trouble believing you. You’re very vocal about how willing you are to lay down your life for the Tenth.”

“Oh, like you aren’t?” Takeshi retorts. He _hates_ feeling cornered, and he’s hyperaware of Shigure Kintoki, wrapped up and balanced against the back of his chair. “That was one of Reborn’s basic expectations when he picked us.”

“I don’t _expect_ having to die,” Gokudera counters. “I’m not _waiting_ for it, like you seem to be. The Boss can take care of himself.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Takeshi says, although he isn’t exactly conscious of having said it aloud until Gokudera kicks him in the knee.

Gokudera looks furious when their eyes meet. “You think it’s _easy_ for me?” he asks coldly. “I grew up the unfavored son in a mafia household. My stepmother despised me. My father had Bianchi practice her cooking on _me._ You think I’ve never thought about dying? That I’ve never wanted it? Fuck you.”

Takeshi looks away. He often forgets how Gokudera acts whenever Bianchi is around, how he never speaks of his family, how quickly he devoted his entire life to Tsuna. Only someone with nothing could do something like that so easily. The two of them have always been similar in that way.

“Sorry,” Takeshi says quietly. “I didn’t mean – ”

“I know what you meant,” Gokudera cuts him off, though his expression is significantly softer than it was before. He tips his head slightly to stare out the window as Takeshi had been before, and the light from the sun makes the platinum blond of his hair seem golden. “You’re used to being alone. How could anyone possibly understand what you’re going through, right? But that’s not how things are anymore, and they won’t be that way again. I’m certainly not going to let you get away with being an idiot.”

Takeshi huffs out a laugh through his nose. “Oh, yeah?”

“I’ll drag you to Dr. Shamal if I have to.” Gokudera grins at Takeshi’s disgusted shudder. “He’s also a licensed therapist, you know.”

Takeshi literally never would've guessed that. Nothing about how Dr. Shamal treats Tsuna or Gokudera or _any_ of them suggests he's trained to give a shit about anyone's feelings, but that's just par for the course where the mafia is concerned. 

“You’re wrong, you know,” Gokudera says quietly, drawing Takeshi’s attention once more.

“What about? According to you, I’m wrong about pretty much everything.”

“Can you be serious for, like, two seconds?” Gokudera pleads, and Takeshi settles back in his chair without a word. “Reborn said we may have to die for the Boss, but do you remember what else he said? What we’d have to do above all else?”

“… no?”

“We have to _live_ for the Boss.” Gokudera glances down at his hand, at the glint of the Storm Ring on his finger. Takeshi looks to his own in response, stares at his own image reflected in the metal’s pristine surface. “Maybe one of us _will_ end up dying for him someday, but he’ll be all the more vulnerable for it. If we’re going to do our best for him, we have to stay alive.”

Takeshi breathes out a long sigh. He doesn’t know how well he can adhere to that so long as Byakuran remains a threat, but Gokudera probably knows that without Takeshi having to say so.

They’ve always been similar, though Takeshi is only just now starting to realize how deeply their similarities run.

“Hayato,” Takeshi says, and the way Gokudera whips his head up to gape at him _has_ to be painful. “Wanna run to the school store with me? I’m actually feeling pretty hungry.”

“W – Who said you could do that?” Gokudera demands shrilly, loud enough that some of their classmates finally turn to regard them with curiosity. “I never gave you permission!”

“That’s okay,” Takeshi says pleasantly as he gets to his feet. “You can call me by my name, too, in exchange.”

Gokudera continues to splutter, practically chasing after Takeshi as he leaves the classroom, but he isn’t _really_ complaining, just as Takeshi knew he wouldn’t.


	8. Chapter 8

Takeshi finds Sasagawa in Namimori’s dojo. It’s the first place he bothered to look, so Sasagawa's being there is no actual surprise. What _is_ striking is how Sasagawa is lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling with a look of pure concentration on his face.

“What’s Ryou-nii doing?” Lambo whispers in his ear.

Takeshi shrugs, adjusting the toddler in his arms. “I’m not sure. Sleeping?”

Lambo giggles. “With his eyes open?”

“It could happen. Reborn does it all the time.”

At the sound of the hitman’s name, Sasagawa sucks in a breath and jerks into a sitting position, eyes wide. “I’m up, I’m up!” he shouts, but all he sees is Takeshi and Lambo, staring at him in confusion. “Oh, hey, guys. Sorry, I wasn't expecting you.”

“That’s okay,” Takeshi says, setting Lambo down on the floor. “It’s not like we made a plan to train today or anything. I'm on baby-wrangling duty, and Lambo wanted to see you.”

A wide grin splits Sasagawa’s face, and he lifts his arms as Lambo scampers over to him and dumps himself in his lap. “Oh, yeah? You missed your big brother Ryouhei that much?”

“No!” Lambo shouts, but he doesn’t squirm or protest at all when Sasagawa wraps him up in a hug. Disagreeing for the sake of argument, as usual. Takeshi doesn’t really want to know how Lambo came to be this way. “You promised to come play, but you haven’t.”

Sasagawa winces, and Takeshi looks him over as he walks closer to the pair. He’s sweating quite a bit for someone who was lying completely supine when they arrived; Takeshi has to wonder where Reborn is, since he’s usually training Sasagawa if he isn’t busy with Tsuna or some other suspicious business.

“Sorry about that,” Sasagawa says with a wane smile. “Things have been busy lately, but I should still make time for you guys, huh? Will you forgive me, Lambo?”

Lambo frowns, peering up into Sasagawa’s face. “Are you okay, Ryou-nii?”

“What? Why?” Sasagawa glances up at Takeshi, bewildered. “Do I look sick or something?”

“You look tired,” Takeshi replies, settling down on the floor opposite Sasagawa and Lambo. “Is Reborn working you to the bone?”

“He’s not that bad,” Sasagawa laughs, crossing his legs and adjusting Lambo in his lap. “It’s fun to fight against him! It’s just, ah… I’m not very good at controlling my Flames.”

Takeshi nods, though he’s a little surprised. He generally tunes Reborn out when he gives Tsuna his regular reports on Sasagawa’s progress. Sasagawa isn’t someone Takeshi worries about, not like Rokudo or Hibari, although Takeshi is slowly coming around in the latter’s case. Tsuna’s Sun Guardian has always been reliable in that he’s there when he needs to be and doesn’t complain about their circumstances.

He’s also strong, strong in the way Takeshi has come to almost admire. Sasagawa isn’t afraid of putting in work, and he’ll dig in and muddle through if he doesn’t get the results he wants straight away. He hasn’t mentioned having trouble with his Flame before, but then, Takeshi can’t remember a time when Sasagawa admitted to struggling with _anything._

“Oh, yeah?” Takeshi asks. “What does Reborn say?”

Sasagawa does an unnervingly good job of schooling his expression into a pleasantly blank fascimile of Reborn’s. “’You can only get so far with your fists,’” he parrots, and Lambo starts giggling in his lap. “’You’ll probably die before your next birthday if you can’t muster up a single Flame.’ You know, the usual.”

Takeshi frowns. “Does he say anything _helpful?_ ”

“I mean, I’m sure he tries,” Sasagawa says. “I just don’t understand much of what he tells me. Kyouko’s always said that I’m a visual learner, but that’s my problem, not Reborn’s.”

“Reborn’s a tutor.” Of sorts. “He’s here to _teach_.” Among other, nefarious things. “If you’re not getting it, he’s doing something wrong.”

Sasagawa’s eyes get wide, and he gathers Lambo up against his chest. “Don’t say such things,” he whispers in mock horror. “Do you have a death wish?”

Takeshi shoots Sasagawa an unimpressed look, and Sasagawa has the decency to appear sheepish. “My bad,” he says. “But like I said, it’s not really his fault. He wants us to succeed, right? For Tsuna, at least, if nothing else.”

“You said you’re a visual learner,” Takeshi says, running over what Sasagawa told him in his head. “Does Reborn not show you his Sun Flames?”

Sasagawa shakes his head. “Never. I don’t really know why. I just assumed he was strong enough to not need to use them in a fight, but he won’t even show me _here._ It’s kinda frustrating.”

Takeshi can understand the sentiment. He spent so long feeling frustrated and overwhelmed in most of his classes. Growing up, he could never focus long enough to absorb what his teachers were saying, and eventually he just stopped listening.

Like Sasagawa, Takeshi performs better when he has something other than spoken word to work with. Baseball was never frustrating for him for that exact reason. There was always another player to copy or use as an example, and Takeshi could usually work something out on his own after seeing a move or play just once.

Colonnello picked up on that early on in their training sessions. If Takeshi was going to master his Rain Flame, then Colonnello was going to hit him with everything his own Flames were capable of. Takeshi understands his Flame because he’s felt another on his skin, has seen what it looks like on someone else. Without that, Takeshi thinks his Flame would still just be that unknowable throb in his chest.

“Maybe I could help,” Takeshi offers. “We train together anyway. I could start using my Flame on you more than I already do.”

Sasagawa shivers. “I hate that Tranquility stuff. It slows me down.”

Takeshi shrugs. He loves Tranquility for that exact reason. “I don’t have to use it on you, if you don’t want. You can just watch.”

Takeshi opens his palm, and Sasagawa’s and Lambo’s attention is drawn there. “It starts in my chest,” Takeshi explains, and the area goes warm, as if responding to his voice. “When I was learning, I imagined physically moving it through my arm, down to my hand, and then – “ A spark of blue fire ignites in the palm of Takeshi’s hand. He can see its glow reflected in both Sasagawa’s and Lambo’s eyes. “It wasn’t easy, but I got the hang of it eventually.”

Sasagawa frowns, opening his hand and staring down at it. Lambo does the same after a few moments, and Takeshi finds himself smiling. “I feel it,” Sasagawa says eventually. “I know it’s there, but I can’t make it do what I want.”

“Can you feel the source? Is it in your chest, too?”

“I think so. It’s warmest there.”

“Mine, too,” Lambo chimes in.

“Think of it like a hose,” Takeshi says. Colonnello used the analogy with him, but Rain Flames share more properties with water as opposed to actual fire, so Takeshi doesn’t know if this will work on Flames of another affinity. “When you turn it on, water travels from one end to another. Your body is the hose, and you can choose which end the water comes out of.”

Sasagawa’s brow furrows as he concentrates, but as time stretches on, there isn’t as much as a spark anywhere on his body. Lambo’s palm is similarly empty, although Takeshi has his doubts that the toddler is even taking this seriously.

“Close your eyes,” Takeshi says before Sasagawa can become truly frustrated. The other boy listens and complies without a word. Takeshi does the same, focusing on what his body feels like. He doesn’t pay much attention to the warmth at the very core of him anymore. It’s just there, as integral as any other body part. Takeshi tries to remember how it used to feel, that foreign, uncomfortable heat. “Your Flame is there. It’s alive, and it wants to be let out.”

“I’m trying,” Sasagawa says, sounding vaguely helpless.

Takeshi shakes his head. “It’s hard now, but eventually you’ll get the hang of it. This is just an extension of us, you know. Just like an arm or a leg.”

It’s more than that, though Takeshi isn’t sure if explaining further would be helpful. He’s starting to realize that their Flames are one of those things that can’t really be put into words. It’s simple enough to show Sasagawa his own Flame, but it’s another to explain how it feels to actually use it. All Takeshi really had to do was picture himself using his power as Colonnello did, and his Flame did the rest of the work.

“Just imagine it,” Takeshi finds himself saying. “Use your other arm if you have to. Pretend that you’re physically grabbing your Flame and dragging it through your body and to your hand.”

Sasagawa grunts, and, curious, Takeshi cracks an eye open. Sasagawa has removed his other arm from behind Lambo’s back and is doing as Takeshi instructed. He clenches his free hand around the center of his chest and then slowly starts to run it over and down the length of his arm.

Takeshi tracks the movement, and when Sasagawa reaches his open hand, there’s a moment of stillness _._ But it’s brief, and Takeshi feels a vague sense of _something_ in the back of his mind before he sees a tiny wisp of yellow in Sasagawa’s palm.

He holds his breath and says nothing, not wanting to break the other boy’s concentration. And under Takeshi’s watchful eye, the yellow Flame grows. It’s nothing at all like the billowing, explosive show of Flame that Tsuna and Gokudera display. Sasagawa’s Flame is careful, cautious. It takes its time, and when it finally stops amassing energy, it’s barely the size of a baseball.

“Whoa.” Sasagawa’s eyes are open now, too, as he stares down at the Flame he created in the palm of his hand. He doesn’t seem proud, or even relieved. There’s only genuine shock in his expression. “I – ”

“Look!” Lambo cries, startling both Takeshi and Sasagawa. Both of his small hands are cupped together, and a tiny wisp of green Flame is cradled between them. It seems to crackle, though there’s no sound, just like a broad stroke of lightning. “Ryou-nii, Take-nii, look, look at what I did!”

Sasagawa laughs, and his Sun Flame goes out as he grabs for Lambo again, gathering him into another hug. “Of course you did,” he crows. “Look at you, Lambo, you’re a natural! It took you barely any time at all.”

Lambo preens under the attention, cheeks going slightly red, and Takeshi feels warm watching them. “Good job, Lambo,” he says. “You too, Sasagawa. That’s amazing progress, really.”

Sasagawa waves him off. “C’mon, I’ve seen what you can do with your Flame, Yamamoto. Try that again when I’m at your level.”

“If it’s impressive for Lambo, it’s impressive for you,” Takeshi replies. “Reborn will be pleased the next time you train together.”

“Nah, he’ll probably be all ‘you should’ve already been able to do this much.’” Sasagawa rolls his eyes. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t. Tsuna definitely understands, nothing is ever good enough for that guy!”

Takeshi makes a vague sound of acknowledgment, staring down at his own hands. He remembers the first time he purposefully managed to conjure a Rain Flame. Colonnello hadn’t said much, but his approval was written all over his face, and he didn’t try to push Takeshi any further that day.

“Oi, Lambo, what’s the matter?” Sasagawa says, drawing Takeshi from his thoughts. “Aren’t you proud of yourself?”

Lambo is still staring at the Lightning Flame he managed to make, but he isn’t smiling anymore. As the silence among them stretches, the little, green spark fizzles and dies out. “Everyone’s working hard,” Lambo says quietly. “And I’m… not.”

Takeshi and Sasagawa exchange a bemused glance. “You don’t have to work hard,” Sasagawa says. “You’re just a kid. You should spend your time playing with Nana and I-Pin like you have been.”

Lambo scowls, and to Takeshi’s absolute horror, tears begin to build within his eyes. “I want to,” he insists with the same level of fervor as when he denies their affection. “I have to! I have to get strong. I have to be the greatest hitman.”

“… Is that what you want?” Takeshi asks quietly. “You want to be a hitman?”

Lambo nods furiously, but he’s still crying. He doesn’t seem sure at all. He just looks like a scared child. “Tsuna-nii needs me,” he says. “He doesn’t like killing.”

Sasagawa’s expression becomes complicated, and he tightens his hold on Lambo. “None of us like killing,” he says, as serious as he’s ever been about anything. “No one expects you to do that, Lambo. If you didn’t want to be a hitman, none of us would make you.”

Lambo blinks owlishly through his tears, glancing back and forth between Sasagawa and Takeshi. “Really?” he asks, voice so small and uncertain that Takeshi suddenly has an overwhelming urge to fly to Italy and find the Bovino Family. “I really don’t have to?”

“There’s no need for you to be a hitman,” Takeshi replies. “That’ll be my job.”

“Take-nii,” Lambo begins as Sasagawa shoots Takeshi a complicated look, “you like killing?”

“I don’t know,” Takeshi says honestly. “But you don’t have to think about that. Let me worry about doing all that stuff for Tsuna.”

“Okay,” Lambo says, though he still seems nervous and unsure. “But – ”

“No buts!” Sasagawa says. “You don’t need to think about stuff like getting strong or whatever. You’re plenty strong! Let us take care of everything until you get a bit older, alright? Don’t you trust your big brothers and sister?”

Lambo huffs, wiping at the tears on his face. “I do.”

“There, see?” Sasagawa laughs, but when he meets Takeshi’s eyes, there’s a depth of feeling in them that wasn’t there before. He seems more exhausted now than when they found him. He doesn’t look at all like he managed something that was previously impossible for him. “Don’t worry, Lambo. Just focus on having as much fun as you can.”

* * *

Being on a semi-friendly basis with Hibari is probably worse than not being acquainted with him at all.

On some level – before all the mafia stuff started – Takeshi was aware of Hibari and his reputation, but it never really mattered to him. What Hibari Kyouya was doing was of no concern to Takeshi, and he didn’t live in fear of incurring the boy’s ire like everyone else did.

What Takeshi did know was that Hibari cared entirely too much about what other people were doing. And that was just in the case of people he didn’t even _like._

That isn’t to say that Takeshi thinks Hibari likes them now. The ring he wears dictates that he give at least some semblance of a shit about what Tsuna and the other Guardians are doing. And as Takeshi has come to realize in the past few months, Hibari never does things in half measures.

They all have Hibari’s attention now, and Takeshi has found that he definitely doesn’t want it. No one cared about his grades before – not even his dad, really – but now every failed grade is apparently being catalogued and filed away in a folder labeled with his name. It’s one of the thicker folders Hibari slams down on his desk, second only to Tsuna’s, and Sasagawa’s isn’t far behind.

“Do you see these?” Hibari asks, voice low, menacing, and just shy of irritated. “In what way is this acceptable?”

“I could burn those for you,” Sasagawa offers, staring up at the ceiling in a manner vaguely reminiscent of a dog that knows he’s being scolded for something. He snaps his fingers, and a small, yellow Flame flickers to life on his index finger. He’d showed Takeshi that little trick a few days earlier, excitedly telling him that all he has to do is imagine a lighter and _bam,_ mythical Flame power at his fingertips. “Looks like they take up a lotta space.”

“In a few short years, we are going to find ourselves in key positions within an _extremely_ powerful organization, with people far smarter than us around every corner,” Hibari snaps, and Sasagawa’s Flame trembles before it fizzles out. “Am I the only one who understands this?”

Takeshi doesn’t think he needs top marks in math or history in order to assassinate their enemies, but he’ll hold his tongue so long as Tsuna is in the room. “No, I get it,” Tsuna says faintly, raising his hands in a placating matter when Hibari’s dark glare shifts to him. “Really, Hibari-san. It’s not like I don’t _try,_ honest! I just… I’ve never been that good at book stuff.”

Hibari falls back down in his chair with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m aware,” he replies evenly, “and I understand. Trust me when I say I’m working on it. But you have to put in at least s _ome_ effort.”

“Does it really matter?” Takeshi asks. “You got us accepted into high school anyway. Who cares what our grades are?”

“You’re graduating in a few weeks whether you deserve it or not,” Hibari agrees. “But that doesn’t mean you can slack off. The foundations we establish now while we’re still in school will help us later on. The more you know when we move to Italy, the less likely it’ll be for others to take advantage of you.”

Takeshi settles back into the couch with a sigh. He supposes he can see where Hibari is coming from. It already feels like it’s them against the world most days, and it’ll only get worse once they officially start working within the fold of the Vongola. Takeshi has heard the phrase “knowledge is power” before, but he’s never really thought about it until now.

“Whatever the case,” Hibari continues, “this better not continue when we get to high school. I refuse to spend the next three years doctoring your grades like I have been.”

“Is that legal?” Tsuna asks faintly, though Hibari doesn’t even dignify that with a response.

“I’ll admit, I used to be among the group of people who never expected anything of you.” A slow, slightly feral grin spreads across Hibari’s face as he speaks, and Sasagawa begins to shift restlessly in his seat. “But I’ve seen what you can do now, and I won’t let you squander your potential anymore.”

Tsuna says nothing, eyes wide with disbelief as he shoots a glance at Takeshi, who only shrugs. “Huh,” Sasagawa says, squinting over at Hibari.

Hibari schools his expression back into something less emotive. “You have something to say, Sasagawa?”

“I mean, I’m just trying to figure out if you’re really Hibari,” Sasagawa says, tilting his head. “You look like him, but you’re being weirdly… nice? I didn’t know you could do that. You haven’t been possessed by Rokudo, have you?”

Hibari leans over to reach for the tonfas balanced near the edge of his desk. “Would you like to find out for yourself if I’m perfectly in control?”

“Oh, _hell_ yeah!” Sasagawa cries, shooting to his feet, and Takeshi takes the opportunity to grab Tsuna by the arm and drag him from the room.

Kusakabe is standing just outside the door like always when they shuffle into the hallway. He nods but otherwise doesn’t acknowledge them, and Takeshi and Tsuna make their getaway as loud bangs sound from within Hibari’s office.

“Hibari’s weirdly okay with breaking all his stuff,” Takeshi comments. “Hayato destroyed his last coffee table, and he just had a new one the next day like nothing happened.”

Tsuna sighs, dragging his hands down his face in exasperation. Classes have ended for the day, so the halls are mostly empty as they make their way back to the classroom to gather their things. Takeshi hears the sound of bats making contact with baseballs out from the direction of the baseball diamond, but he doesn’t really feel anything other than a tempered nostalgia.

“I don’t know how anyone expects us to focus on _school_ during all this,” Tsuna groans. “I can’t take a test when I’m thinking about the Vongola and – and _Byakuran_ of all things.”

The two of them startle when Takeshi’s hands ignite at the mention of Byakuran’s name. So many emotions course through Takeshi as he stares down at his hands, but none of them take form enough for him to comprehend. “Shit, sorry,” he hisses, drawing his hands close to himself as he wills the angry heat of his Flame to calm down. It’s a struggle in a way it’s never been before, and Takeshi is overwhelmed by his power, by his instincts, by the angry pound of his own heart. “I don’t – That doesn’t usually happen.”

“It’s okay,” says Tsuna, though he’s quiet as he looks at Takeshi’s hands. “I understand.”

The silence stretches on as Takeshi eventually manages to get his Flame under control. His chest still burns, reacting to some nonexistent danger, and Takeshi struggles to find the words to explain himself. “Lambo told me,” Tsuna says before Takeshi can gather his wits, “about what you said. About being a hitman.”

“Oh,” Takeshi says dumbly, caught off guard by the change in topic. “Okay.”

“Are you sure?” Tsuna presses, backlit by the window that overlooks the track field. “You don’t have to… do that. Not for me. I’d _never_ ask you to.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Takeshi replies. “I _want_ to do it. Reborn and Colonnello think I’d be good at it. Someone has to, Tsuna.”

Tsuna’s mouth sets in a grim line. “No one _has_ to do anything. I’m the Tenth, aren’t I? Wouldn’t I know best if I needed a hitman?”

Takeshi thinks Tsuna knows more than any of them could possibly imagine. Hyper Intuition is no joke, and for all his antics, Tsuna’s gut is his strongest asset. But to that end, Takeshi understands that Tsuna doesn’t think clearly when it comes to the safety of his Guardians. He’d put himself at risk before any of them, and Takeshi wouldn’t be a Guardian worth a damn if he allowed that to happen.

And although Takeshi doesn’t necessarily like or trust Reborn all that much, he knows that Reborn was onto something when he said the greatest weapon against a professional was another professional. No hitman will ever get _close_ to Tsuna, not on Takeshi’s watch.

“Just… don’t force yourself for my sake,” Tsuna sighs, fixing Takeshi with an imploring look. “Okay, Takeshi?”

“Okay,” Takeshi says off-handedly. “I won’t.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: death of a minor OC

Their last day of junior high is fairly uneventful. The Third Years cry and give lingering hugs like they won’t be seeing each other at Namimori High next term. Their teachers give long, meaningful speeches about potential and success, and a few more tears are shed. This class of students obviously has a strong bond, one that Takeshi doesn’t think he can relate to; especially not when he doesn’t recognize a single face.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Sasagawa whispers at his side, “but why are you guys here?”

“Hibari said we had to,” Gokudera grumbles, arms crossed over his chest. “I think he just wants to torture us.”

Tsuna looks more uncomfortable than he has in months, sitting on his hands to keep himself from fidgeting with them. They’d all filed into Class 3-B’s room first thing in the morning, following Sasagawa like a dutiful line of baby ducks. It’s obvious they don’t belong – Takeshi recognizes a few Third Years from the baseball team, but they don’t approach him, and he sure isn’t going to make the effort – and they sit in the back of the room as distant observers to a celebration they didn’t really earn.

They’d already known they would be graduating a year early, but Takeshi never assumed they’d actually take part in the festivities like everyone else. There can’t be a single teacher who thinks they actually deserve to – Gokudera aside, since Takeshi’s never seen him get below a ninety-nine on a test – but no one questions it when Hibari is the one delivering the news.

Takeshi doesn’t really care when he graduates, but Hibari’s logic made sense. It’s better for all of them if they stay together, and Sasagawa’s impending graduation would’ve thrown a wrench in their plans. “Holding him back would be counterintuitive,” Hibari had explained. “So, we’ll just speed up the process a little for the rest of you.”

Dokuro, as a First Year, hadn’t offered a word of complaint. If anything, she seemed pleased, in that reserved, quiet way of hers. Tsuna had asked her about it, and she only shook her head and said, “If I can skip junior high and just go to high school with you all, I’ll be happy.”

She’s probably going through Kokuyo Middle’s graduation festivities as the rest of them sit here, uncomfortable and out of place among their seniors. Takeshi distantly wishes she were with them as opposed to Kakimoto and Joshima, but there’s nothing to be done about that. They’ll be seeing her later tonight at the Sawada house anyway, since Nana is insistent on throwing them a party.

Tsuna’s mother hadn’t exactly been _pleased_ that their education was being fast-tracked, but she listened to Hibari’s explanation and ended up agreeing. “It would just be too sad if Ryouhei-kun ended up all alone,” she’d said.

With Nana in agreement, there were really no obstacles, so they all graduate alongside Sasagawa and Hibari at the end of term. Hibari is the true spectacle, since everyone assumed he’d maintain his reign over Namimori until the end of time. Takeshi feels less exposed with everyone’s focus directed elsewhere, but he doesn’t exactly enjoy himself. Even when his father comes later in the day with Nana, and they’re all herded together for photos, Takeshi’s mind is elsewhere.

No one from the mafia is there. Tsuna’s father and Bianchi definitely weren’t invited, although some part of Takeshi had expected them to at least try and sneak in. Colonnello had the excuse of being overseas on contract work, and Reborn just didn’t make an excuse at all.

But Takeshi knows the hitman is around. He’s distinctly aware of that fact, especially when he feels his cell phone buzzing in his pocket.

**Unknown**

Remember, just do what comes naturally. I’ll send you more info on the target later. I’ll be watching.

Takeshi clutches the empty container for the diploma he doesn’t have, the one he didn’t even earn, and thinks about stars.

* * *

Murakami Kazuma. Twenty-eight, high school dropout, bottom of the totem pole in his organization. He’s wanted for basic stuff, though mostly for peddling prescription medications and other drugs through high school and college students looking for an easy paycheck. According to Reborn, this hit is so easy that an infant could do it.

Reborn’s messages spoke of Murakami’s current haunt, in a back alley caught between the movie theater and a ramen shop in Namimori’s entertainment district. Takeshi thinks he’s been to that ramen place with his father, and he peers curiously through the window as he passes. It’s not too busy for a Friday night, and Takeshi doesn’t know which would be preferable for this: a large crowd or a smaller one.

Takeshi opts not to think about it too much. Reborn said to focus on the target for now and not to worry about any other details, so that’s what Takeshi’s going to do.

He ultimately decides to swing around and approach the alley from the back of the ramen shop instead of the front. If Murakami is scouting high school and college kids, then he’ll be closer to the entrances of the theater and ramen shop. Takeshi wants to try approaching him from behind first, although that will probably put him on edge. But this way, the number of people who might catch a glimpse of Takeshi will go down.

Possibly spooking Murakami is worth that. In any case, Takeshi has faith that he seems harmless enough to get the man to drop his guard.

Takeshi sees a man at the mouth of the alley, although he won’t know if it’s Murakami until he gets close enough. Steeling his nerve, Takeshi takes a breath and calls, “Excuse me?”

To his credit, the man doesn’t jump. He only turns his head to regard Takeshi, not moving from his leaning position against the wall of the ramen shop. “Yeah?” he asks, and he has an air about him that reminds Takeshi of Squalo, but it’s a flimsy connection. Takeshi still can’t see his face very well, so he moves even closer. “What do you want, kid?”

Takeshi grins sheepishly. “Sorry to bother you. I was just wondering if you knew of any places around here that are hiring?”

The man stares at Takeshi incredulously. He’s dressed in a maroon suit, and the jacket is rolled up at the sleeves. There’s a hint of black ink above his right elbow, and he smells of cigarette smoke. He doesn’t fit in with everyone else in the area, but no one who passes by even spares him a glance. If that doesn’t scream that this man is _different,_ then Takeshi doesn’t know what does.

“What have you got there?” the man asks instead of answering, eyeing the slope of Shigure Kintoki against Takeshi’s back.

“Oh, just a kendo sword,” Takeshi replies, pulling his weapon free from its sheathe to hold it out in front of him. The wood is smooth and clean, deactivated and non-threatening, and the older man relaxes incrementally at the sight of it. “I’m on my way home from practice.”

The man snorts as he puts the end of a cigarette between his lips, and he cups a hand around his silver lighter as he flicks it on. Takeshi watches keenly, and the dim light that flares up is enough to illuminate the small, pale scar shaped like a fish hook just above his jawbone; exactly like in Reborn’s description. “This sure ain’t your usual route. I’d know if you’d been through here before,” Murakami says around his cigarette. “You don’t typically see high school kids wandering around here at night on a Friday.”

Takeshi shrugs. “You got me. I, uh, heard from a friend about some… job opportunities around here. I just wanted to check it out for myself.”

Murakami eyes him thoughtfully. “Oh, yeah? What kind of job opportunities?”

“He said something about transporting,” Takeshi replies with a heavy sigh. “It’s not exactly what I _want_ to be doing, but I need the money, and not a lot of people will hire high schoolers around here.”

Murakami regards Takeshi for a long moment, but it isn’t long before he pushes away from the brick wall of the building and faces Takeshi head-on. His stance is relaxed and open, but it’s unmistakable how he blocks Takeshi’s path out onto the main street.

 _Idiot,_ Takeshi thinks.

“It’s tough for kids your age, isn’t it?” Murakami says sympathetically, taking his cigarette between his thumb and forefinger to flick ash off the end. “Your teachers work you to the bone, and you can barely make anything working part time.”

Takeshi swings Shigure Kintoki listlessly as his side. “That’s just the way it is, I guess.”

“Doesn’t have to be,” Murakami pushes. “That transporting job you mentioned? I could get you in on it, if you wanted. The pay’s definitely better than anything else you’ll find.”

“Really?” Takeshi blinks up at Murakami in surprise. “You’d do that? But you barely know me.”

“You remind me of myself when I was your age.” Murakami laughs, shaking his head. How often must he use that line? “I don’t mind helping you out. It’s just… well, this isn’t your normal transport gig.”

“Oh, yeah? What is it, food? Furniture?”

Murakami grins. “Medicine.”

“Oh.” Takeshi frowns. “Where to? Pharmacies?”

“More like the average man’s pocket,” Murakami replies, glancing over his shoulder before moving closer to Takeshi. Takeshi stays still, but Murakami just walks straight past him, beckoning him to follow. Takeshi almost can’t believe how easy this guy is making his own assassination. He probably could’ve killed Murakami with his Flames and just pretended he was drunk and had collapsed on him, but Takeshi’s options increase as he follows Murakami deeper into the dark alley. “Kids with baby faces like you are the perfect transporters. No one suspects you guys, and your friends are the ones who request our services, most of the time.”

Takeshi tries to picture Tsuna soliciting prescription drugs from a stranger. He’d probably cry. “So, what would I have to do?”

“Just deliver stuff to the right people, at the right time.” Murakami turns back to Takeshi, eyes drifting down to the wooden sword in his hand. “And make sure you get paid, of course. You’re in a kendo club, right? So, you could probably shake someone down if you had to.”

Takeshi nods slowly, attempting to appear thoughtful. “Seems easy enough. Isn’t this illegal, though?”

Murakami shoots him a bemused glance. “You really came all the way down _here_ looking for a job on the straight and narrow?”

Takeshi laughs, tapping Shigure Kintoki against his shoulder. “Fair enough. Do I have to sign up or something?”

The man shakes his head, extending a hand to Takeshi. “We can just shake on it for now,” he says coolly. “The official stuff can come later.”

Unlike most of the teenagers this man solicits, Takeshi actually knows what the “official stuff” entails. Contracts with jargon too complicated for any high schooler to understand. Shakedowns of their own when and if they don’t produce the money requested of them. Meetings with strangers far shadier and less pleasant than Murakami.

Takeshi knows what happens when this deal becomes official, and that’s why he takes the hand offered to him. “It’s a deal.”

Murakami has a few, brief moments of coherency before his eyes glaze over. The foxlike grin slowly slides off his face, and although he stays standing, his hand slips from Takeshi’s. Takeshi shakes out his own hand, still tingling and alight from his Rain Flame.

He readjusts his grip on Shigure Kintoki, and when he lifts it to the vulnerable line of Murakami’s throat, the polished wood morphs into a glinting blade, quicker than it would take to blink. “Sorry,” Takeshi says to Murakami’s slackened face. “You really weren’t as bad as I thought you’d be.”

 _What was it again?_ Takeshi finds himself thinking. Cateroid? Carotid? Something along those lines. Takeshi nearly failed biology, but he remembers that there are a few points in the human body that bleed more than others when cut. Regardless, whichever artery Takeshi hits, it bleeds _a lot,_ way more than Takeshi was expecting.

It isn’t an explosive gush, not like it is in anime, but the flow is quick. One moment, the side of Murakami’s neck is white and flawless, and the next, it’s dyed completely red. The man’s expression doesn’t even flinch as he begins to bleed out before Takeshi’s eyes. He doesn’t make a sound, not a scream or cry for help. Tranquility works like a charm, but even that can’t keep Murakami standing as he bleeds out.

As the man begins to fall, there’s a moment where Takeshi finds himself thinking of his mother. He thinks of when she’d read Rapunzel to him, of the motion she used to make with her hand when they reached the part where the princess’ long hair was finally cut.

“Takeshi.”

Takeshi blinks, and there’s a hand on his shoulder. He turns his head and finds Dino staring down at him with an unfathomable look on his face. “You did it,” the man tells him gently. Takeshi says nothing. He doesn’t know what _to_ say. He’s never spoken to Dino before. Reborn’s older pupil spends more time with Hibari than any of the other Guardians. “You did remarkably well for your first time.”

“Reborn and Colonnello say I have a natural instinct for it,” Takeshi replies, returning his gaze back to Murakami’s body only to find that it’s being zipped up in a black bag by four people Takeshi doesn’t recognize. How had they…

“I’m inclined to agree,” Dino comments. “Although you didn’t give much thought to possible interruptions or witnesses.” He gestures to the other end of the alley, where a large group of people has suddenly gathered, blocking them from view. They’re dressed in normal street clothes, but one of the women gives them a sharp nod as she makes direct eye-contact with Dino.

Takeshi shrugs, sliding Shigure Kintoki back into its sheathe. He almost forgets to use his Flames to clean the blade, and once he’s done, the weapon returns to its dormant, non-threatening state. “Reborn just said to worry about killing him and that someone else would handle the rest.”

Dino sighs, rubbing at the back of his head. “And that someone would be me. Honestly, what was he thinking, sending you in with no prior training? This guy was just a common dealer, of course, nothing too crazy, but… ”

“Can I go now?” Takeshi asks. “We’re having a graduation party at Tsuna’s.”

“I… suppose,” Dino says, eyeing Takeshi warily. “You feel okay?”

Takeshi frowns. “Yeah? I’m fine.”

“You did just kill a guy.” The older mafioso’s voice is soft, almost gentle as he pats Takeshi’s shoulder again. “It’s okay if you need to take a breather, or – or talk to someone. I remember the first time I went out with Reborn, I wasn’t exactly – ”

Takeshi brushes Dino off, turning away from him and the four men lifting Murakami’s body from the ground. “I’m fine,” Takeshi repeats. “Thank you for your help.”

No one tries to stop Takeshi as he hurries from the alley. The group of people that are _definitely_ involved with the mafia part to let him through without exactly acknowledging him, but Takeshi feels pinned, harried as he hurries down the street.

Something is building inside him, something Takeshi can’t begin to understand. It bubbles, rises, threatens to leave him in a violent burst.

He just _killed_ someone. And Takeshi doesn’t regret it. Not even _close._ The idea that someone might see that is what terrifies Takeshi more than anything else _._

Takeshi laughs, and it’s high and reedy. “What the _fuck_ ,” he says to himself.

* * *

The front door of the Sawada house bangs open before Takeshi even manages to knock. “Senpai!” Dokuro shouts in his face. “You’re here!”

“Chrome!” Tsuna appears from around the corner, eyes wide with concern. “You have to stay inside remember? Where we can see you?”

Dokuro actually _pouts_ , and Takeshi stares at her, wide-eyed. “I just wanted to greet Yamamoto-senpai,” she says. “I haven’t seen him all _week._ ”

Tsuna groans, dragging his hands down his face before he rushes forward to grab Dokuro by the shoulders and pull her back into the house, allowing Takeshi room to enter himself. “Don’t mind her,” Tsuna says, looking utterly exhausted. “She had too many of those whiskey chocolates that your dad brought.”

Takeshi whistles. “How many did she eat?”

“Um, a whole package,” Tsuna says, to which Dokuro cheerfully adds, “All by myself!”

Takeshi kicks off his shoes before patting Dokuro on the head. “You’ll hate yourself for this tomorrow,” he tells her. “Trust me, I’ve been there.”

“I’ll _never_ hate myself,” Dokuro declares furiously. “Not ever. No one can make me.”

“Let’s go sit back down,” Tsuna says gently, pushing Dokuro in the direction of the living room. “Didn’t you want to try arm-wrestling Hibari?”

Dokuro gasps, and she’s gone in the time it takes Takeshi to blink. “Hibari-senpai! Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you promised me!”

“Does she even feel fear?” Takeshi says to Tsuna. “You know what, never mind. Rokudo lives in her head, how could she?” 

Tsuna shakes his head, heaving a giant sigh that Takeshi deeply wants to replicate. “Where have you _been_?” he demands, and Takeshi laughs when his friend punches him in the arm. “You disappeared after the ceremony. Even my _dad_ got here before you.”

“I had some stuff to do,” Takeshi replies. “And he actually came?”

“I guess,” Tsuna huffs, rolling his eyes. “Lambo bit him, like, five times, so he’s hiding in the kitchen.”

Takeshi nods. “Nice.” He makes a move to follow Dokuro, but Tsuna’s hand on his arm stops him.

“You said you had stuff to do?” Tsuna asks, and really, it was foolish of Takeshi to hope he’d accept that flimsy explanation. “Is everything okay?”

There’s nothing Takeshi can do but tell the truth, or as close to the truth as he can get without upsetting his best friend. “I saw Dino,” Takeshi replies. “Reborn wanted him to work with me on some techniques. Of the… assassination kind?”

Tsuna’s mouth falls open. “He – _What?_ He made you do that, today of all days?”

“I agreed to it,” Takeshi assures him. “And it didn’t take long. I just had to head home and get changed afterward. It’s fine, Tsuna, really.”

It’s impossible to tell how much Tsuna believes him, or if the nuggets of truth are enough to keep Hyper Intuition from sounding the alarm. But while Tsuna doesn’t look exactly pleased, he isn’t looking at Takeshi like he knows he just took his first life.

“If you say so,” says Tsuna. “I guess I can’t stop you, but… just be careful.”

Takeshi nods. “Don’t worry.”

Before he can follow Tsuna further into the house, Takeshi’s phone buzzes again for the first time since that afternoon.

**Unknown**

Nice job. Next time we’ll work on your spatial awareness.

Takeshi hums and pockets his phone. He’s already thinking ahead of Reborn on that one.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long period between updates. With everything going on in the world lately, I just haven't been in the best headspace to write/edit. So, thank you for being patient with me! <3

**Ryouhei:** we’re gonna be high schoolers tomorrow

 **Ryouhei:** wtf

**Chrome:** It is certainly bizarre.

**Hayato:** For you especially, Dokuro.

 **Hayato:** You were barely in junior high for a year.

**Tsuna:** I’m still really sorry, Chrome (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

**Chrome:** (•_•)?

 **Chrome:** Why would you be sorry?

**Tsuna:** All this disrupted your life a lot

 **Tsuna:** I just feel bad I guess

**Chrome:** You shouldn’t!

 **Chrome:** I’ve honestly never been happier…

**Ryouhei:** ???

**Chrome:** It’s just that you all are the first friends I’ve ever made on my own.

 **Chrome:** And I’d like to get the chance to attend school with you, like normal friends.

 **Chrome:** So, I’m just happy I get to stay with you guys. Really!

**Ryouhei:** o(〒﹏〒)o

**Takeshi:** o(〒﹏〒)o

**Tsuna:** o(〒﹏〒)o

**Kyouya:** It is 11 at night.

 **Kyouya:** Why do you all always do this?

**Takeshi:** oops

**Ryouhei:** busted by the fun police (￣︿￣)

**Mukuro:** I’m sure our dear Hibari just needs his beauty rest. The sakura are blooming, after all.

**Chrome:** Mukuro-sama!!!! Welcome (*^‿^*)

**Ryouhei:** WTF

**Takeshi:** lol

* * *

The seven of them make up Namimori High’s first class of “fast-tracked” students, and Rokudo is established as the school’s only disant-learning student, attending classes via Dokuro. They’re the only ones who make up their homeroom, and every single one of their teachers are new hires that teach them exclusively. They are also the only students enrolled in a new course, simply titled “Guardianship Skills.”

“What was your pitch for that one, Hibari?” Gokudera asks as he scans their schedule again. He pushes back in his chair as he holds the paper over his face, balancing precariously on its back legs. Sasagawa, sitting behind him, puts his feet up to keep Gokudera from toppling over entirely. “Is it some shitty version of a leadership class?”

“They didn’t ask many questions,” Hibari responds absently. He’s been writing in his notebooks for the better part of their lunch period. Sometimes Tsuna will glance over curiously only to be cowed by Hibari’s glare. “They took the notes I gave them from Reborn and made adjustments to our curriculum accordingly.”

“Reborn wrote our schedules?” asks Sasagawa.

“Well, we’re doomed,” Tsuna mumbles.

Takeshi laughs, glancing at Dokuro when she does the same. “So, what do you think?” he asks her. “Is this everything you thought it would be?”

Dokuro swallows her mouthful of rice before answering. “It’s only been half a day, Yamamoto-senpai. But it is… nice. I didn’t expect we’d be the only ones in our class.”

“He’s not your senpai anymore. None of us are,” Sasagawa grumbles, pushing Gokudera’s chair back to solid ground. “I didn’t even think about that until today. The little seniority I had, just _gone.”_

“It sounds like you’re doing a lot more complaining than eating,” a voice comments from the window, and Tsuna nearly falls right out of his chair in shock while Dokuro chokes on her food. Takeshi only jumps a _little,_ but even that much has him scolding himself for not being more vigilant. “We could always get back to work if you all aren’t hungry.”

" _You_ – Don’t scare Chrome like that!” Tsuna barks once he’s collected himself, glaring at Reborn’s figure at the open window. “She could’ve choked!”

“I’m okay,” Dokuro croaks, but her expression becomes pinched and vaguely annoyed almost immediately after. “But please do refrain from scaring my vessel in the future. I’m afraid I won’t be much help without her.”

Her tone is dripping with sarcasm and thinly veiled disdain. Gokudera glances at her over his shoulder, brow pinched in a scowl. “Oh, like you’ve been any help so far, Rokudo?” he says. “The most you’ve done is try to kill the Boss and Hibari.”

Sasagawa watches Dokuro with intrigue while Hibari finally looks up from his notebooks. “I’m going to request a transfer if you all keep this up,” he says drily.

Chrome’s face flushes a deep red as she comes back to herself, reaching up to scratch nervously as her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she says. “Mukuro-sama is just being protective.”

“Well, tell him to fuck off.”

“Your home economics class is supposed to be next,” Reborn says, cutting the conversation off before Gokudera can truly piss off Rokudo, “but Bianchi’s a little preoccupied at the moment, so I came instead.”

Gokudera pales at the mention of his older sister, and Tsuna frowns. “I didn’t think she’d be involved in all this,” he says, fixing Reborn with a long look. “Do we even need to take home economics?”

“Is she going to teach us her poison cooking?” Dokuro asks. “Isn’t that… unethical? This _is_ still a school.”

“And poison cooking’s all she’s good at,” adds Gokudera. “It wouldn’t even be a home ec. class.”

“Most of your classes are formal in name only,” Reborn explains cheerily as he hops down from the window. “I haven’t spoken to Bianchi about her lesson plans, but I mentioned that you all should be desensitized to poisons before you graduate. Don’t worry, you’ll all become more immune through exposure.”

 _Oh, yeah, like Gokudera?_ Takeshi finds himself thinking. The feeling in his chest is only slightly bitter. Takeshi had already known he would have to undergo training of this type if he was to take up the mantel of Tsuna’s personal hitman, but he hadn’t thought the others would be subjected to the same.

“A whole class dedicated to poisoning us?” Sasagawa frowns, shooting a thinly veiled look of concern toward Dokuro. “Do we _have_ to?”

“You don’t have to do any of this,” Reborn points out. “Yet here we are.”

Silence greets his words, but since he’s seated directly behind him, Takeshi sees the way Tsuna’s shoulders stiffen.

 _Stop burdening him,_ Takeshi thinks, and as if he heard, Reborn shifts his impossibly black gaze to Takeshi. The two gaze at one another silently for a heartbeat before Reborn looks away.

“This was never going to be a normal high school experience for you all,” the hitman says, to Takeshi’s irritation. “You’re the official Family of the Tenth. There are some things you’ll just have to put up with.”

From the corner of his eye, Takeshi sees Sasagawa’s hands ball up into fists atop his desk. Dokuro quietly puts the lid back on her bento, though Takeshi is mostly drawn to how her back straightens.

“You’re not telling them anything they didn’t already know,” she says. Nothing about her really changes when Rokudo takes over, but the underlying ice in her tone gives it away every time. “Enough with the pleasantries. This is a classroom, isn’t it? If you’re so dedicated to being the Tenth’s tutor, then teach.”

Takeshi can never really get a read on what Reborn is thinking, but if he didn’t know any better, he would think the infant hitman seemed amused.

“Of course,” Reborn replies evenly, and their first day in high school continues.

* * *

Guardianship Skills quickly becomes Takeshi’s favorite class. He’s never been one for traditional schooling, and getting to leave Namimori High’s grounds for whatever Colonnello or Reborn have planned for him is one of his favorite parts of the day.

He’s used to working with either of them one-on-one, but sometimes he and one of the other Guardians are paired together for a spar or some other form of training. The only person Takeshi’s never worked with is Hibari, so when the Cloud Guardian approaches him during the day’s last period, Takeshi doesn’t know what to expect.

“Come with me,” Hibari says, and Takeshi knows he has no other choice but to follow.

He leads Takeshi to the Principal’s office, but they go in through the door as opposed to the vents. One of Takeshi’s first assignments in Guardianship Skills was to sneak into the room while the Principal was inside. Takeshi had used the vents because he thought it would be fun, though he vastly underestimated the width of his own shoulders.

This time, the Principal is nowhere to be seen. “Without the Disciplinary Committee, I have no need for an office of my own,” Hibari explains before Takeshi can give voice to his questions. “Principal Matsuoka lets me use his when I need to.”

Takeshi only nods. “That’s nice of him.”

Hibari settles down behind the desk, gesturing at one of the opposing chairs. “Take a seat. We may be here a while.”

“Are we looking for information or something?” Takeshi asks as he sits down. “Some secret document? Does Matsuoka have a hidden criminal history?”

“No, he’s terribly boring,” Hibari says, rifling through the briefcase that he seems to carry everywhere these days. “I wanted to share what I’ve managed to find about Byakuran with you.”

Although Takeshi doesn’t burst into Flame at the mere mention of Byakuran, his Rain Ring does begin to glow a dull blue. Lately, he’s begun to notice more activity from his Vongola relic. Colonnello and Reborn say that he’s starting to resonate with the Ring more, whatever that might mean.

“It’ll channel your energy and make your power less volatile if you become overwhelmed,” Colonnello had explained. “Probably.”

Takeshi curls his hand bearing the Rain Ring into a fist. “Okay,” he says lowly. “What did you find?”

Wordlessly, Hibari hands Takeshi a photograph. It looks like it was taken from a considerable distance before being zoomed in and amplified, so the quality isn’t the best, but Takeshi still manages to single out the picture’s focal point. There’s a man seated at an outside table at some sort of restaurant. He’s rather striking compared to those around him, with wild, white hair and a dark mark under his left eye that Takeshi can’t quite decipher thanks to the quality.

“That was taken about a week ago outside a café in Naples,” Hibari says. “Dino has had a few of his men trailing Byakuran ever since your visit to the future.”

Takeshi says nothing, can’t seem to tear his eyes away from the picture. He seems so normal. Unassuming. But he’ll come to kill Tsuna in the future if they do nothing, and Takeshi has thought of little else but stopping him for the past few months.

“What are his patterns?” Takeshi demands. “Does he go to this café often? Does he meet with someone?”

Hibari leans back in his borrowed chair, fixing Takeshi with a stern look. “What, are you going to fly down there yourself and put a bullet between his eyes?”

“If I have to,” Takeshi replies. “Why else would you be telling me this? Does Hayato know?”

Hibari shakes his head. “You’re the first I’ve told. He travels back and forth between here and Naples fairly often. I’m not certain what he’s been doing while he’s here, but – “

“Wait, _here_?” Takeshi’s blood feels like ice. “In Namimori?”

“He’s never been within ten kilometers of Sawada,” Hibari says. “As far as I can tell, Byakuran has no interest in us at this point. But he’s far more of a formidable foe than I initially anticipated.”

“What does that mean?”

“First,” Hibari says firmly, “I need you to promise to stay your hand until told otherwise by myself or Reborn. We can’t have you going off on your own at any point during all this.” 

Takeshi finally glances up from the photo to fix Hibari with a piercing stare. “Then you shouldn’t be telling me this at all.”

“Really?” Hibari seems almost perplexed as he meets Takeshi’s steeled gaze. “If I told you who Byakuran was and where to find him, would you really be unable to stop yourself from going after him?”

Takeshi understands himself well enough to know that the answer is a resounding _Yes_. He’s only interested in saving Tsuna, and he wouldn't be able to stop himself from going after Byakuran if he knew where to find him.

If these past few months have taught Takeshi anything, it’s that he can’t be trusted to make the tough decisions when Tsuna's well-being is involved. He went to the future despite their misgivings, but he’d upset Tsuna as a result. So, no matter how valuable the information he retrieved, Takeshi can only feel guilty when he looks back on the whole thing.

If Takeshi goes after Byakuran, Tsuna will undoubtedly suffer, and in this instance, Takeshi _doesn’t_ want that more than he wants Byakuran cold in the ground.

“You should tell Hayato what you know instead,” Takeshi says with great reluctance. “He’s… better with this stuff.”

Hibari quirks a dark brow. “You’re sure? Isn’t this something Sawada’s right hand should be aware of?”

Takeshi actually smiles at that, though he feels far from happy. “I’ve given up on all that, I think. Hayato’s right, he’s better suited for it.”

Hibari says nothing, and Takeshi glances down at the picture again. No matter its horrible quality, Takeshi burns the image of Byakuran’s profile into his mind. He won’t go after the man for now, but if he steps within even a kilometer of Tsuna, Takeshi will be prepared to react.

“What makes you say that?”

Takeshi glances up again in surprise. “Huh?”

“Sawada’s right hand should be devoted to him,” Hibari says, and for a brief moment, his eyes flash violet. Takeshi doesn’t know what to make of it. “You value him above anything else, even your own life. You’ve proved that over and over again. Why shouldn’t you be at his side?”

Takeshi hadn’t expected Hibari to press the issue, though Takeshi’s answer is clear enough in his own mind. Gokudera is loud and opinionated, but he’ll always do what Tsuna says in the end, even if he disagrees. Takeshi just doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to do the same, especially not when it comes to matters involving Tsuna’s life.

Tsuna had told them to stand down when it came to the Ten-Year Bazooka, and Takeshi hadn’t listened. And although he may feel guilt over it, Takeshi knows that if given the chance, he wouldn’t do anything differently.

More and more, Takeshi is beginning to realize that Tsuna’s life, while treasured amongst the Guardians, is his burden to carry. Someone in Takeshi’s position just isn’t capable of following orders that conflict with his duty. That’s why he can’t be Tsuna’s right hand, and why he can’t yet know the details regarding Byakuran.

“I belong in Tsuna’s shadow, not at his side,” says Takeshi. “That’s where I can do my best for him.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter content warnings: vague references to human trafficking/sexual assault, referenced suicide attempt

Two months into the school year, Takeshi wakes up to the sound of his phone ringing with very little recollection of the night before.

There’s a pounding behind his eyes that threatens to send him heaving to the floor, and it only becomes worse when he answers the phone and hears, “ _Take-nii!_ You’re late!”

Takeshi grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut. “Hey, Lambo. Late for… for what?”

“Movies!” Lambo cries, and then there’s the sound of muffled shuffling before another voice says, “Takeshi, hey! Sorry if you’re just getting up, he wanted to talk to you first. Didn’t think he’d scream at you like that.”

“S’okay.” Takeshi slowly blinks up at the ceiling. He wants to turn his head to check his clock, but he has a feeling he’ll throw up if he even so much as twitches. Even the thought of looking at the bright screen of his cellphone makes Takeshi feel sick, so he doesn’t do that either. “You two are at the movies?”

“Yeah, we all are,” Sasagawa says, and Takeshi’s mind starts to open up to thoughts of the previous evening. They were all making plans after school, though Takeshi had to head out before anything was solidified. But where had he gone? What had he… “Sawada, Gokudera, even the girls are here. Don’t tell me you forgot, you responded to our messages last night.”

 _That’s right,_ Takeshi thinks. He hadn’t been able to look at his phone until after, and by then Takeshi had only been thinking about getting to his bed with little regard to what he may have been agreeing to. It had sounded nice, at the time, to just hang out with his friends like he used to. Now, Takeshi doesn’t think he can leave his bed, let alone make his way downtown to sit through a two-hour movie. “Yeah, I remember, just… I don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sasagawa asks, though he sounds distracted. Takeshi thinks he can hear Lambo kicking up a fuss in the background, though it could very well be someone else’s unruly child. “You sick or something?”

“Something,” Takeshi mumbles. Pain bursts behind his eyes again, nearly whiting out Takeshi’s vision. He can see the girls in his mind’s eye, stockings torn, blouses ripped from their bodies. They’d first looked at Takeshi in fear, but they clung to him sobbing when their tormentors fell at his feet. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Well, that sucks…. yeah, Takeshi said he's not coming. He’s not feeling too good.” Wherever they are must be crowded. Takeshi can barely make any sense out of the voices he hears. “Haru says she hopes you feel better.”

“Which one is Haru again?”

“Are you joking?” Sasagawa laughs. “I can’t tell most of the time.”

Takeshi says nothing, too busy wondering what had happened to the victims after he left the hideout. Dino had said not to worry, but those girls hadn’t been clinging to him, hadn’t begged _him_ for help.

“And who are you supposed to be?” One of the men had said when Takeshi found them all. He’d reeked of sweat and liquor, belt hung open around his hips. “Their knight in shining armor?”

Takeshi remembers slitting his throat and feeling good about it.

“Takeshi?” Sasagawa says. “You still there?”

“I said I’m not coming,” Takeshi says sharply, digging the heel of his palm into his eye. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ryouhei.”

Takeshi hangs up, throwing his phone to the floor and turning onto his side with great difficulty. He curls in on himself, hands clasped in front of his chest, and wills the pain to go away.

 _For the Sky,_ a small part of him whispers, so Takeshi just grins and bears it.

* * *

 **Chrome:** How are you feeling, Yamamoto-senpai?

**Takeshi:** Better

 **Takeshi:** I think I just needed a nap lol

 **Takeshi:** How was the movie??

**Hayato:** Awful. Lambo couldn’t sit still, and I-Pin had to pee AT LEAST five times.

**Ryouhei:** there only kids!

**Hayato:** *They’re

**Ryouhei:** (눈_눈)

**Chrome:** It was an interesting movie!

 **Chrome:** I wish you could’ve gone to see it with us.

**Takeshi:** next time (*^‿^*)

**Mukuro:** I suggest not letting the children pick the next one.

**Ryouhei:** WHAT ELSE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO

 **Ryouhei:** THEYRE BABIES THEY CANT WATCH A LOT OF STUFF

**Mukuro:** Maybe just don’t take them.

**Hayato:** I agree.

**Takeshi:** (＊〇□〇）……！

**Hayato:** shut UP

* * *

In some ways, Takeshi misses the fog through which he used to experience the world. He never noticed when people were watching and didn’t care even when he did. Now, Takeshi feels every stare, and no matter the reason or person behind it, they all feel like a needle upon his neck.

“Lambo,” Takeshi says for maybe the sixth time, “you yelling at me isn’t going to make me go any faster.”

“Mush!” Lambo shouts from his position atop Takeshi’s shoulders, and Takeshi resolutely does not meet the stare of the perplexed woman passing them on the sidewalk. “Cardcaptor Sakura is on, Take-nii, _mush!_ ”

“Nana-san will record it for us,” I-Pin says reasonably, and Takeshi, not for the first time, wonders why she couldn’t be Tsuna’s Guardian of Lightning. She holds Takeshi’s hand just as instructed and never _ever_ strays from his side, unlike Lambo who goes missing every fifteen seconds. “She always does.”

Lambo doesn’t like this answer, if the fist he brings down on top of Takeshi’s head is anything to go by. It doesn’t hurt, but Takeshi still lets out a long sigh. “Why are you so slow?” Lambo demands. “Ryou-nii is much faster!”

“Ryouhei is a superhuman,” Takeshi says. “I’m just a regular guy.” A regular guy that can barely feel his thighs even five days after his last mission. Each step is a new lesson in agony. Takeshi just wants to lay down on the ground and never get up. “Maybe ask him to take you to the park next time.”

I-Pin’s small hand flexes in Takeshi’s own. “Let’s all go together,” she says fiercely. “Right, Lambo-chan?”

Lambo mumbles his agreement, and Takeshi wonders if the two feel lonely. They all had a lot more time before entering high school. Their training has ramped up in preparation for the mysterious tests they still have to pass before they can officially become the Tenth Generation Vongola Family. With so much of their time being monopolized, the kids are getting significantly less attention than they had before; Takeshi finds that that bothers him. No wonder Lambo acts like such a needy brat half the time. “We’ll get the whole gang together, then,” says Takeshi cheerfully. “You have my permission to bug Hayato-nii until he agrees.”

The two cheer and are busy making plans for their next group outing until they reach the Sawada house. The front door is unlocked, so Takeshi lets himself in while Lambo shrieks, “We’re home, Nana-san!”

“Welcome back!” her voice calls from somewhere within the house. “You made it just in time for Cardcaptor Sakura.”

Lambo practically flings himself from Takeshi’s shoulders, and I-Pin sidesteps as he lands in a heap beside her. Undeterred, Lambo pops right back up and makes a mad dash for the living room, I-Pin hot on his heels. “Don’t sit so close to the TV!” Takeshi calls as he toes off his shoes.

“We _know_ , Take-nii,” both kids drone back at him, and Takeshi feels some enjoyment out of inflicting the same torture bestowed upon him as a child.

Takeshi finds Nana in the kitchen, hunched over as she digs around in the fridge. “I’m making snacks,” she calls. “Who wants apples?”

Lambo and I-Pin both shout to the effect that they most certainly do, and Nana turns to face Takeshi, holding a mesh-bag of apples in her arms. “Takeshi-kun,” she greets him cheerfully. “Tsu-kun and Hayato-kun aren’t back yet. Feel free to go and watch TV with the kids.”

“Do you need help?” Takeshi asks. “It’ll go faster with two people.”

“I have heard that you’re quite the swordsman,” Nana says, gesturing to the second knife on the countertop. “Help me skin these apples. We’ll cut some to have now, and then I’ll use the rest in a salad for dinner tonight.”

Takeshi nods, moving to do as he’s instructed. He’s used to gutting and de-scaling fish at the restaurant, though he hasn’t done that in a while. Lately, the only time Takeshi handles a blade is during battle. It feels… odd, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Nana and peel the skin from an apple. He takes his time with it, slowly rotating the apple along the knife’s edge.

“Thank you for taking them to the park,” Nana says suddenly, and she smiles when Takeshi glances over to meet her gaze. “They’ve been restless lately. Especially Lambo-chan.”

“It was nice,” Takeshi replies. He leaves out all the times Lambo challenged I-Pin to a footrace only to throw a tantrum when he lost. He won a few times at the end, though Takeshi has a suspicion that only happened because I-Pin allowed it. “Hopefully they’ll be worn out for you for the rest of the night.”

Nana hums to herself. “They really aren’t much trouble. No more than Tsu-kun was at their age, anyway. They just get excited when they’re around you all. They want to impress you.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Nana replies. “They think the world of you. That’s why today was very special for them. They’ve been… concerned.” Something pings in Takeshi’s brain at that, a sense of familiarity that he can’t quite pinpoint. “Lambo-chan says you haven’t been smiling as much.”

Takeshi’s hands slow in their task. _Oh,_ he thinks. Nana doesn’t have Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition, but she may as well. “I’ve been tired, I guess,” he says carefully. “I didn’t mean to worry him or I-Pin.”

There’s a faint smile on Nana’s face when Takeshi spares a quick glance at her. The last of the skin from her apple falls to the counter in crimson ringlets, and she moves them aside before setting the apple down to begin slicing it. “Children are perceptive,” Nana says. “More than we give them credit for. Tsu-kun was like that, too, until Timoteo sealed his Dying Will Flame. I remember when he changed after that visit, and I never put two and two together until Reborn-san came. I still kick myself for that.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Takeshi says, though he perfectly understands her point of view. “All this Dying Will Flame stuff is… well, it barely makes sense to _me,_ even now.”

“I’m his mother,” Nana says as she brings the knife down. “I should’ve paid more attention. Maybe you kids wouldn’t be in this mess if I had.”

Takeshi doesn’t know what to say. Nana says all of this matter-of-factly, as if she’s gone over this in her head dozens of times before. She doesn’t sound sad, or even frustrated. There’s only a confident assurance that reminds Takeshi of Hibari. “I guess what I’m trying to say,” Nana continues, “is that I noticed something was wrong, even back then. And I can see now that you kids are struggling, just like I-Pin-chan and Lambo-chan can.”

Takeshi goes back to peeling his apple, and despite the trap he just walked into, he can’t help the small smile that blooms on his face. “You and Tsuna are a lot alike.”

Nana laughs, though now that she’s ensnared Takeshi, nothing will possibly distract her from her goal. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” she tells him, “but you can lean on me, Takeshi-kun. I’m a mom. That’s what I’m here for.”

A small, aching part of Takeshi trembles at the words. His eyes burn as he sets his apple down and starts cutting, even as Nana gathers her finely chopped pieces and drops them into a green, plastic bowl.

“I’ve killed nine people since graduation,” he admits in a quiet rush. Takeshi slices the apple in half as he waits for some sort of reaction. When Nana stays quiet, he continues. “And I don’t feel bad about it. I think they all deserved it, but… the things they were doing… ”

“Only tell me what you want,” Nana reminds him gently, though her voice warbles.

Takeshi shakes his head. Now that he’s started, he doesn’t think he can just stop. He’s tried so hard to hide this part of himself from the others, but Takeshi is finding that he’s just as weak to Nana as he is to her son. “The first few were just drug dealers,” Takeshi explains, “but they still hurt a lot of people. Killing them didn’t bother me, it _never_ bothers me, but what they were doing felt less… ”

“Less?”

“Less _heinous,_ ” Takeshi says. He’s read the word so many times in his life, but he doesn’t think he’s ever used it himself until now. “On Saturday, Reborn said some college girls were going missing, and he sent me and Dino to take care of it, but... ” Takeshi feels foolish. They’re all preparing to enter the _mafia._ What is he doing getting upset this late in the game? “It was easier to get it out of my head, when they were just trafficking drugs. It’s different when they’re selling _people_.”

Nana reaches over and places a hand between his shoulder blades. Takeshi blinks away his tears furiously even as he continues chopping. “You don’t have to justify how you feel,” she says tightly, and _oh,_ she’s crying, too.

“I’m sorry,” Takeshi says, feeling wretched. “I didn’t mean – ”

“Don’t mind me,” she interrupts, dabbing at Takeshi’s eyes with her apron. “I just – ignore me. You’ve been bottling this up, all this time?” When Takeshi nods, she makes a wounded sound. “You haven’t even told Tsu-kun?”

“I couldn’t,” Takeshi says, allowing Nana to carefully extract the knife from his hands when they begin to shake. “I don’t want him or – or _any_ of the others to see this part of me.”

“Oh, Takeshi,” Nana says, sounding truly mournful. “Tsuna wouldn’t judge you. He _wouldn’t._ He and the others have been so worried about you. They wouldn’t care what you had to say, so long as you just talked to them.”

Takeshi sniffs, biting at his lip as he rubs at his left eye with the heel of his palm. The idea of telling Tsuna and the others about any of this is terrifying to him. It’s one thing for them to know that he’s been killing people; they probably suspect that already. It’s another to realize that Takeshi is unbothered by the act itself. And he’s just been walking among them for _months._

They’ve all regarded Reborn and Bianchi and Rokudo with distrust since the beginning. What will they do once they realize Takeshi is no better than they are?

“Have you spoken to Tsuyoshi about any of this?”

Takeshi blanches at the idea, fiercely shaking his head. “No. He doesn’t – I don’t know what he thinks is going on. We don’t talk about things like this.”

Nana is silent for a long time. She keeps wiping Takeshi’s face until his tears finally stop, and then she begins to rub his back. It takes all of Takeshi’s willpower to not burst into tears a second time. “When he told me that he was teaching you the Shigure Soen Ryu style,” she says quietly, “he was very somber. Your dad is perceptive, just like you are. If you talked to him about this, he would listen, and I think he’d understand.”

It sounds so simple when Nana says it. Takeshi has carefully avoided talking about his life with his father, even before the Vongola entered the picture. He doesn’t even know about Takeshi’s suicide attempt, or the long years of suffering that preceded it. The longer Takeshi put it off, the more impossible it seemed. What will Tsuyoshi do when he learns about Takeshi’s plans for his future?

“I know you all have… no reason to trust adults,” Nana says at length, and finally, some of that anger she’d expressed toward Iemitsu and Reborn surfaces in her tone. “We’ve failed you time and time again. Iemitsu chose to be a Vongola above a husband and father, and Tsu-kun is still paying for that. You all are in the positions you’re in now _because_ of us. Who are we to judge how you decide to handle it?

“I’m sorry, Takeshi-kun,” Nana continues. “I’m sorry you’ve been put in these situations. _Please,_ just… just talk to someone about it. Me, Tsuyoshi, even Tsu-kun. I know you’re afraid, but you’re _so_ important to him, and he hates seeing you like this.”

Takeshi feels utterly defeated. No matter what he does, he makes Tsuna worry. What was the point of staying silent at all, then? “Okay,” Takeshi says. “I will. I promise.”

“You don’t have to promise me anything,” Nana replies before pulling him down into a hug. And Takeshi goes, having no strength to resist. Because in this moment, he desperately wants his mother, and he’s never going to find her. “Just do it for yourself.”


	12. Chapter 12

When Takeshi finally gets home, it’s a little after three o’clock. TakeSushi is empty, but his father is standing behind the counter, drying off dishes. “Welcome,” Tsuyoshi calls absently, but when he glances up and notices Takeshi standing there, a grin blooms on his face. “Welcome home,” he amends. “How were the kids?”

“Energetic,” Takeshi replies, though he stays by the door. The lingering warmth of Nana’s arms around him pushes him to say, “Um, I need to talk to you about something.”

Tsuyoshi blinks, going still, but he recovers quickly. “Alright,” he says, setting the glass aside and wiping his hands down with the towel usually draped over his shoulder. “Flip the sign, would you?”

“I – I didn’t mean now,” Takeshi says, bewildered. “We don’t have to close, it can wait – “

Tsuyoshi shakes his head. “No.” Takeshi’s father is so rarely stoic outside of the dojo. For years, Tsuyoshi became the laughter and smiles that his wife left behind, although Takeshi was incapable of appreciating that. Now that Takeshi is older, he’s starting to recognize the cracks in his father’s mask, but that doesn’t mean he’s used to seeing the man so serious. “It can’t.”

After flipping the sign from _Open_ to _Closed,_ Takeshi follows his father upstairs. Normally, Tsuyoshi immediately changes out of his uniform once the restaurant has closed for the day and everything’s been cleaned. But Tsuyoshi heads straight to the table next to their small kitchenette and sits down, and Takeshi does the same as his father breathes out a heavy sigh.

“Okay,” Tsuyoshi says, meeting Takeshi’s eyes evenly. “Just know that you can tell me _anything_ , Takeshi. I love you, and whatever it is, I’m going to stick by you.”

When Takeshi laughs, it’s nervous. He wonders what it is his father expects him to say. That Takeshi’s failing high school so soon after skipping an entire year? That he’s gotten someone pregnant? “I’m, um. We’re – Okay, Tsuna’s dad is part of the mafia, and they want Tsuna to be the next Boss, and we’re joining up with him, whenever that actually happens.”

“They want _Tsunayoshi_ to lead the Vongola?”

“Yeah, they – Wait.” Takeshi ogles his father, who seems shocked but not for the reasons Takeshi had been expecting. “You _know_ about the Vongola?”

His father winces, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. “Iemitsu and I were… well, we ran together, back in the day. I thought the whole reason he stayed away was to keep Nana and Tsunayoshi out of it, but I guess not.”

Takeshi’s father and Tsuna’s had been… friends? Takeshi has almost never seen the two interact. The only time was at their graduation party, and even then, they’d barely said more than two words to one another. “Did Mom… ”

Tsuyoshi shakes his head. “Touka wasn’t Iemitsu’s biggest fan. She wasn’t sure what we were doing, but she was suspicious. I stopped getting involved with all that once we got married and she became pregnant with you, but… ” He pauses for a moment, gazing across the table at Takeshi with a slightly melancholic look. “I guess it was for nothing.”

“It was my decision,” Takeshi says quickly. “No one forced me.”

“I believe you. No one can force you to do anything. But, Takeshi, do you really know what you’re getting involved in?”

Before today, Takeshi would have said yes. He wholeheartedly believed he was prepared, that he was the _only_ person who could do these things for Tsuna.

Takeshi still _wants_ to do this for Tsuna. That much hasn’t changed. He just isn’t sure if he can.

At Takeshi’s silence, Tsuyoshi takes a deep breath. He folds his hands together on the table, and his expression takes on the edge Takeshi usually only sees in the dojo. “When you asked me to teach you our family’s sword technique,” his father says, “I tried not to let it bother me. Shigure Soen Ryu… well, it’s useful for a lot of things. But when I used it for Iemitsu, it was only ever for one purpose.”

“I know,” Takeshi says before his father can continue, because he recognizes the look on the man’s face, that weight. “That’s – I know. I _know_ what it can do. I’ve seen it.”

“Will you tell me?” Tsuyoshi asks quietly. “Whatever you’ve done, I promise I’ve seen worse.”

So, Takeshi tells him. About his position in Tsuna’s Family. About Murakami. About the people whose names Takeshi can’t remember. Takeshi tells his father about the people he’s saved and the dreams he has. The sleeplessness. The guilt. The hollow pit in his chest that aches and festers and only quiets down when Tranquility takes over.

Tsuyoshi listens without interrupting him. His face never changes no matter what Takeshi tells him, and he never once looks away. He doesn’t cry like Nana had, and neither does Takeshi, no matter how flayed open and raw he feels. “I don’t regret it,” Takeshi says. “I _don’t._ And I hate myself for it. I feel – “ Hopeless. Ugly. Like a monster. “Disgusting.”

At that, Tsuyoshi’s expression hardens. “None of us are in any position to say who does and doesn’t deserve death,” he says, “but that doesn’t always matter. I can’t say I’m happy that things have turned out this way for you, Takeshi, but what matters is that you have your own sense of justice and aren’t killing indiscriminately. I wouldn’t have taught you the Shigure Soen Ryu style if I thought there was any chance of you abusing it.” 

His own sense of justice? Takeshi doesn’t even know what that would even look like. He doesn’t tend to think too deeply about those sorts of things, but maybe that’s been his problem all along.

“They’re not forcing you to do these things, are they?” Tsuyoshi asks, voice going brittle, and Takeshi jerks in his chair, vehement denials on his tongue. “I know you said it was your choice, but this is bigger than you kids. If they’re forcing _any_ of you – ”

“I’m here because I want to be,” Takeshi blurts out. “I’m here because… because… ”

“Takeshi?”

“I was going to… but Tsuna, he – ” This is something he hadn’t told Nana. He hasn’t had practice talking to adults about this sort of thing. The only people who even _know_ this part of Takeshi are Tsuna and Gokudera, although the others have probably guessed at this point. “I didn’t want to live anymore, before all this.”

The way his father’s face goes from grave to impossibly blank shakes Takeshi to his very core, but like before, he just can’t seem to stop once he’s started. “After Mom died,” Takeshi continues, averting his eyes when Tsuyoshi’s expression doesn’t even flinch, “I just stopped caring about a lot of things. I didn’t really see the point. It got so – so _hard_ to do even the simplest things. I didn’t think it would ever get any better, and I decided to… ”

“Takeshi,” his father says, voice breaking, and Takeshi presses his lips together to keep them from trembling, “I’m sorry, I’m _so sorry_.”

Takeshi balls his fists atop his thighs. “I didn’t want you to know. It was just… easier to pretend, I guess, that things were okay.”

“I’m your _father,_ I should’ve noticed that you felt that way!”

Maybe. Maybe Tsuyoshi should’ve paid more attention. Maybe Takeshi should’ve known forcing smiles and laughter wouldn't cure the pain he felt. They’d lost sight of one another in their own grief, and Takeshi wishes now that things could’ve been different, but there’s just no changing the past.

“I didn’t end up doing it,” Takeshi says, as if his presence at the table isn’t enough. “Tsuna found me. He said – Well, he made me realize that things weren’t as hopeless as I thought. He was my miracle.”

When Takeshi finally looks to his father again, it’s only to find that Tsuyoshi is crying. He sits tall and silent, but it chips away at another piece of Takeshi’s composure, because he hasn’t seen his father cry since his mother’s funeral. “Touka and her stars,” Tsuyoshi says, mournful and nostalgic in equal measure. “She always said you were her miracle.”

Takeshi’s eyes burn. _Some miracle I turned out to be._ “I remember.”

“She loved you, Takeshi. She loved you _so_ much. You two were so close, and you were young when she got sick. I should’ve known it would devastate you, even if you were trying to hide it from me.”

“I’m better,” Takeshi says. It’s true in some ways, and an utter lie in others. “Tsuna made it better. And that’s why I’m going to stick with him. I have to.”

“Takeshi,” Tsuyoshi implores him, “it’s one thing to be a friend, but it’s another to be a… a subordinate. The mafia is no joke. Are you really sure about this?”

Takeshi almost laughs at the idea, wonders how Tsuna would react if _anyone_ called Takeshi or the others his subordinates. He wants to tell his father that he _didn’t_ know what he was getting into, but that Takeshi now understands it’ll only get worse from here on out; he just trusts Tsuna and the future he’s leading them toward.

He means to convey that and so much more, but what comes out is a tired and fractured, “I love him.”

Tsuyoshi’s eyes, so much like Takeshi’s own, widen, and another tear slowly makes its way down his cheek. “Takeshi… ”

“He’s the reason I got down from that roof,” Takeshi continues, “and I’m going to follow him anywhere. That’s the only thing I don’t have doubts about. I’m sorry I lied and hid all of this from you, but… I can’t stop what I’m doing. Please, don’t ask me to.”

Tsuyoshi heaves a sigh, but it sounds resigned to Takeshi. “You and Touka are a lot alike,” Tsuyoshi says. “She was focused, and if she decided on something, nothing anyone said would change her mind. Moving Mt. Fuji would’ve been easier.”

Takeshi has to smile at that, even as his wipes the tears from his face. “Oh, yeah?”

“Mhm.” Tsuyoshi lifts the collar of his shirt to rub at his own eyes. “I think she’d approve of you and Tsunayoshi, too. She didn’t care for Iemitsu, but she adored that boy and Nana.”

“There’s nothing to approve of,” Takeshi says reflexively. “I mean – He doesn’t – ”

“Takeshi,” his father says, and Takeshi goes quiet. His father looks at him through wet and reddened eyes, looking so sad for someone Takeshi has always known to be a pillar of strength. “Whatever’s going on with you two, it’s okay. And I won’t ask you to take a step back from whatever Iemitsu’s gotten him involved with, but… just promise me, okay? Promise me you won’t make this one thing your reason for living. It can’t end well.”

Takeshi takes his time to think about it, because he owes his father that much. He doesn’t think living for Tsuna is a bad thing. Compared to what he had before, becoming involved with Sawada Tsunayoshi has only improved Takeshi’s life. Is it so bad to want to repay that?

But even beyond Tsuna… Takeshi has friends now. Gokudera, Sasagawa, Dokuro, Hibari, and even the kids. For Takeshi, there’s more to being Vongola beyond his position as a Guardian. It means steering Gokudera clear of Bianchi. Sparring with Sasagawa when he starts to go stir-crazy. Trying not to always take Hibari’s words at face-value. Making sure Dokuro understands that they want her around. Taking Lambo and I-Pin to the park.

There are a lot of things to live for, Takeshi thinks, independent of Tsuna. But it doesn’t change the fact that Takeshi even has all of these things _because_ of Tsuna.

“I promise,” Takeshi says. “Don’t worry, Dad. I really... I’m really happy to be alive now."

* * *

Tsuyoshi calls Takeshi in sick from school on Saturday, and for the next two days, Takeshi sits alone in his room. He lets his friends know he’s feeling under the weather and won’t be leaving his house, but he doesn’t respond to messages other than that. Instead, Takeshi thinks about Tsuna, the Vongola, and the men and women he’s killed since accepting his role within the Family.

He thinks about what makes a death righteous. He thinks about his mother, and wonders if she’d had any enemies, people who were glad to see her go.

Does anyone miss the people Takeshi killed in the way he misses his mother? Does their grief pale in comparison to the lives Takeshi is probably saving?

Takeshi doesn’t think he knows, but it will take longer to parse out than a single weekend sequestered away. For now, he just feels better with the knowledge that his father and Nana at least won’t shun him for what he’s done. It gives him hope in regard to the possible reactions Tsuna and the others may have, and Takeshi clings to that.

On Sunday evening, after Takeshi comes back to his room after a shower, he notices that his phone screen is alight with messages.

**Tsuna:** have any of you heard from Reborn today??

**Ryouhei:** nope

**Chrome:** I haven’t!

**Kyouya:** Is something the matter?

**Tsuna:** I don’t really know…

 **Tsuna:** I thought something felt off earlier but I can’t explain it

 **Tsuna:** he was supposed to come over and talk to my mom about something but he never showed

**Kyouya:** I’m sure he’s fine. This isn’t the first time he’s disappeared.

**Tsuna:** I guess :/

**Takeshi:** I agree with Hibari

Takeshi doesn’t really think anything of it for the rest of the night. He goes to sleep, stomach rolling due to thoughts of the next day. He doesn’t know what he’ll say to everyone, but he tries to convince himself that it’ll be fine. Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition will probably be able to get to the heart of how Takeshi feels; he just hopes that whatever lies underneath all his indecision isn’t enough to make Tsuna turn away.

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep. One moment he can hear the soft murmur of his father watching TV in the living room, and the next everything is quiet. Takeshi’s mouth is sour with sleep and the abrupt realization that something isn’t right.

“Don’t get yourself killed,” a voice says in the darkness, and that’s the last thing Takeshi knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter than usual this time! I won't be able to update for at least another two weeks, because my summer semester is ending and I have way too many projects due. But I didn't want to leave you all on that cliffhanger, so here we gooooo

Takeshi falls to his hands and knees in the grass, half asleep and disoriented. His head feels like it’s about to split open, and he wonders if time travel will ever stop being painful.

He blinks against the sudden sunlight, sitting back on his knees to take in his new surroundings. It looks like he’s in the middle of a forest. Everything is mostly quiet save for the lazily blowing wind. All Takeshi sees are trees no matter which way he turns, and he has to wonder… what was his future-self _doing_ out here?

There’s no way to figure that out, so Takeshi decides to focus on what he does know. “Colonnello,” Takeshi murmurs under his as he pushes himself to his feet. He’d been caught off guard and mostly asleep, but he’d recognize that voice anywhere.

So, Colonnello had snuck into Takeshi’s room and shot him with the Ten-Year Bazooka for some reason. Training? He _had_ told Takeshi not to get himself killed, so it probably hadn’t been done in malice.

Takeshi heaves a giant sigh, stretching his arms above his head. He won’t be here long anyway, and he doesn’t feel like walking around a random forest in his underwear. Colonnello can thrash Takeshi all he wants for failing whatever test this was supposed to be later.

He really does intend to stay where he is and wait for the Bazooka’s time limit to kick in. But the nagging thought of where his future self might have been going won’t leave Takeshi to his peace. Ultimately, he decided to look around again, searching for any sort of landmark or sign that might clue him in as to Future Takeshi’s intentions.

It doesn’t take him long to notice a path in the grass. It’s hardly noticeable, but there is a distinct way in which the slightly flattened grass leads off into the trees. Having no other leads, Takeshi decides to follow it.

The trampled grass leads Takeshi to a small clearing. He can smell incense, recently lit, and he finds an incense burner next to what appears to be a lone grave. That in itself isn’t alarming, but the distinctive pattern of the Vongola emblem on the stone’s surface gives Takeshi pause. It isn’t a Japanese style grave, not like the one Takeshi visits once a year with his father. No, Takeshi has never seen a grave like this before, but as he slowly approaches it, he’s filled with a foreboding sense of fear.

_There’s no way. There’s just no way._

Below the Vongola emblem, Italian words are etched into the stone. Takeshi’s understanding of Italian is rudimentary at best – despite Gokudera’s best efforts – but he knows _some_ words. “The most important ones,” Gokudera had stressed, unmoved by how Tsuna blushed and squawked beside him.

_Vongola Decimo_

_Sawada Tsunayoshi_

_Il cielo ti dà il benvenuto._

Takeshi registers the ringing in his ears before anything else. Then it’s just the numbness in his body, the way his own heart threatens to tear its way out of his chest, like it intends to bury itself alongside Tsuna.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. They’d learned about Byakuran and his plans. They were supposed to have _changed the future._ There’s no way Tsuna is dead, buried beneath six feet of dirt in a forest clearing in the middle of nowhere. The Guardians should have prevented this. _Takeshi_ should have prevented this.

All at once, Takeshi feels an approaching presence behind him. _Grave robbers,_ he thinks wildly as he whirls around. He’s unarmed, but Takeshi will fight them off with his bare hands if he has to.

But the figure that stumbles out of the tree-line is familiar and entirely unchanged since the last time Takeshi saw her. “Senpai!” Dokuro cries out as soon as she sees him, running to his side and throwing her arms around him. Takeshi stumbles but stays standing, refusing to fall back onto the grave. “You’re here. You’re okay. What _happened_ to you?”

“You’re Dokuro, right?” Takeshi demands, even as he lifts his arms to hug her back. She’s a solid and warm weight against him, but some part of Takeshi prays that his hands will meet air, that this is nothing but an illusion, or a bad dream. His hands slide around Dokuro’s thin shoulders and stay there. “From my time?”

Dokuro tilts her head back to peer up into his face. “Yes, it’s me,” she says worriedly. “Are you okay, Yamamoto-senpai? You look so pale.”

“It’s – It’s nothing.”

“It isn’t!” Dokuro insists. “Where are we? I – I can’t hear Mukuro-sama, and I don’t know how I got here. What’s going on?”

She sniffs, then, nose scrunched up as she likely picks up on the incense lingering in the air. “What is – “ She begins to pull away from Takeshi, but Takeshi tightens his hold on her. “Senpai?”

“Don’t look, Chrome,” Takeshi says, hating how his voice breaks. “Just… don’t.”

Dokuro’s eye goes wide at the use of her given name. She’s obviously scared and concerned, and Takeshi’s behavior is doing nothing to reassure her. But it isn’t long before Dokuro’s expression furrows in determination, and she bodily pushes Takeshi away in order to see what he’s attempting to shield her from. Takeshi doesn’t put up a fight, moving where she directs him and resolutely not turning around.

Maybe he imagined it. Maybe it’s a joke Rokudo is playing on them, a way to test his illusions.

But those flimsy, desperate hopes are shattered to dust as Dokuro utters a quiet, “ _Oh._ Oh, Yamamoto-senpai… ”

“We failed,” Takeshi says bitterly. “We knew, and we still couldn’t save him.”

“It could be – It might just – ”

Takeshi shakes his head. His body is no longer numb. Now it’s just cold, the only heat to be found living behind his eyes. He can feel something building within him, something terrible and ugly, and he wants to use Tranquility on himself, but… not with Dokuro here. “Tsuna’s dead,” he says, and then he just can’t stop, his voice becoming increasingly hysterical with every word. “Tsuna died. He’s _dead,_ Chrome, he – ”

Dokuro attempts to shush him, turning away from the grave to grab onto Takeshi’s hand. She squeezes his fingers, thumb pressing against the Vongola Ring on his finger. “It’s okay, it’s okay, Senpai,” she tries to soothe him. “It might be – Let’s think about what we know, okay? Not what we assume.”

Takeshi barks out a laugh. There’s nothing to _assume_ , not when the evidence is right there.

“We got sent to the future somehow,” Dokuro continues. It seems she’s making an effort to speak softly, slow enough for Takeshi to understand in his panic, and Takeshi latches onto her voice as he squeezes her hand in his. “You got here before me. Do you remember anything?”

“Colonnello,” Takeshi says with great effort. “He’s the one who shot me. He spoke to me right before. He told me not to get myself killed.”

“Colonnello,” Dokuro repeats. “Okay, that’s good. Anything else? How did you find your way here?”

“I followed the path,” Takeshi replies, and Dokuro nods encouragingly. “I figured that… my future-self had to have been going somewhere. I just didn’t think… ”

“We’re mafia,” Dokuro interrupts him. “Nothing is ever as it seems. This could be a fake grave for all we know, meant to confuse our enemies. Maybe Sawada-sama is hiding somewhere. There’s just no way for us to know.”

It makes sense when she says it, even if Takeshi has trouble believing he could ever force himself to visit a grave with Tsuna’s name on it, even if it were fake. Takeshi closes his eyes and forces himself to breathe, turning Dokuro’s words over in his mind.

“It’s okay, Yamamoto-senpai,” Dokuro says again, and her smile is gentle when Takeshi looks at her. “We’ll be home soon, and Sawada-sama will be waiting for us.”

Takeshi nods, swallowing against the lump in his throat. “Thank you, Chrome, I… sorry for freaking out like that.” 

She shakes her head, and now that Takeshi’s calmed down a little, he manages to really take in the sight of her. She isn’t dressed for sleep like he is, instead wearing a blue sweater and a pair of shorts. Dokuro also has shoes on, unlike him. She looks like she’d been prepared to go out when she’d been hit with the Bazooka.

“What about you?” he asks her. “How did you get here?”

Dokuro averts her gaze from Takeshi’s, seemingly uncertain. “I’m not sure. I was dreaming, I think, and I thought I heard Sawada-sama crying. He was calling out for you,” she says, and despite the quiet hesitance in her tone, the words hit Takeshi like a punch to the gut. “I was just leaving to go to him when I felt someone else’s presence, and then I ended up here.”

Had it been Colonnello again? Takeshi doesn’t know how far Dokuro’s house is from his own. Could Colonnello have made his way between them in such a short amount of time for Dokuro to find Takeshi so quickly? “I don’t know how long I’ve been here,” Takeshi says at length, “but it’s been much longer than five minutes.”

Dokuro’s hand twitches in Takeshi’s own, but she doesn’t let go. “What do you think that means?”

“I’m not sure,” Takeshi replies honestly. “We could stay here and wait a little longer, but… something tells me this isn’t like the other times we’ve time-travelled.”

“What should we do?”

Takeshi doesn’t know how to answer. If this future is evenly remotely similar to the one Takeshi visited before, then Millefiore has taken over, and the Vongola are being hunted. They’re sitting ducks as they are, stuck in an unfamiliar place with no allies. If they move from this spot, they could wander into even more trouble, and the only weapons they have are the Rings on their fingers and the Flames in their chests.

Just as Takeshi is about to suggest they hunker down and wait – Tsuna’s grave looks like it’s being maintained regularly, surely one of the other Guardians will happen upon them if they wait long enough – he hears what he thinks are footsteps in the grass.

Dokuro stiffens a moment later, and they both turn toward the sound, clutching at one another so tightly their fingers turn white. They watch, holding their breath, as a woman with long, dark blue hair steps out of the tree line. Her figure is covered in a tan, tattered cape that falls just above her ankles, and even though her eyes are obscured by the visor she wears, Takeshi can feel her gaze on them.

“The Rain and Mist Guardians,” the woman says in a low voice, and Takeshi tenses, preparing to make a run for it with Dokuro. “This is an unfortunate place for you to wind up. Come with me.”

She turns to leave the clearing, as if expecting her curt words to be heeded, but neither Takeshi nor Dokuro moves an inch. “Why should we?” asks Takeshi. “We have no idea who you are.”

Without missing a beat, the woman turns back around just enough so they can see her chest. She reaches into the fold of her cape at her neck, and Takeshi’s eyes widen as she pulls out a pacifier eerily similar to the ones Reborn and Colonnello wear. “My name is Lal Mirch,” she says a touch impatiently, “and we don’t have time to waste around here. Now hurry up. Reborn is waiting.”

* * *

Reborn gives Takeshi a change of clothes instead of the explanation he probably deserves. “You’re embarrassing yourself in front of the girls,” the tiny hitman says, and for the first time in months, Takeshi actually wants to hit him.

Part of Takeshi had expected to follow Lal Mirch into a trap, but she only took them to a secret, underground base. From what Takeshi has managed to gather from the woman’s brief explanations, they’re still in Japan – still in Namimori, even. Takeshi listens to the low voices of Dokuro, Reborn, and Lal as he changes in the next room, pulling on a t-shirt and jeans that are unnerving in how well they fit him.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened,” Reborn is saying to Dokuro when Takeshi rejoins them. “I was heading to Tsuna’s, and then I was here.”

“Someone actually got the jump on you?” asks Takeshi. “You’re losing your touch.”

Leon blinks slowly at Takeshi from the brim of Reborn’s hat. “I’m the same as I ever was,” Reborn retorts. “Like I’ve been telling Lal, there are very few people alive who can sneak up on me.” Takeshi doesn’t know what that implies, though Lal does, if her exaggerated eye-roll is any indication.

Without her visor obscuring half of her face, Takeshi can now see the scarring around her right eye. It almost resembles a burn. Takeshi wonders where it came from, although he knows better than to ask.

“I’m sorry,” Dokuro says hesitantly, “but can you please tell us what’s going on, Reborn-san? Why haven’t we all gone back to the past yet?”

“I’ll explain in a bit,” Reborn says. “I don’t really feel like repeating myself.”

“What are we waiting for?”

“Hibari went to get the others,” Reborn explains. “He left about ten minutes after Lal, so I imagine he won’t be long.”

Takeshi and Dokuro exchange a bewildered glance. “Hibari-senpai is here?”

Lal nods as she sits down at the table opposite Reborn, unclipping her cape from around her shoulders and throwing it over the back of her chair. After a brief moment of hesitation, Takeshi sits as well, taking the seat to Dokuro’s left. They’re in what looks to be some sort of mess hall, and Takeshi wonders when any of them had the time to build an entire underground compound.

“You said he’s getting the others,” Takeshi says. “What do you mean?”

“We picked up on signals from your relics,” Lal says, pointing to the Rain Ring on Takeshi’s finger. “But we’re not the only ones monitoring for rings, so I had to be quick and get to you first. I guess more signals popped up after I left?”

Reborn nods. “Three, to be exact. We obviously couldn’t tell which ones, but their energy outputs were definitely strong enough to be the Vongola Rings.”

Takeshi fiddles with the ring on his finger, quietly hoping that Tsuna is among the group Future Hibari is going to collect. It probably isn’t safe for Tsuna to even _be_ here, considering the state of the mafia world, but Takeshi doesn’t think he can really calm down until he sees his friend’s face. Even if it isn’t the Tsuna of this world, Takeshi needs to see some version of his best friend alive and breathing.

It takes another half hour of nearly unbearable silence before Takeshi thinks he hears something from somewhere else in the compound. A long, droning noise, like a garage door being opened. “That’ll be them,” Lal says. “Hibari certainly doesn’t waste any time.”

Takeshi hears voices, then, and he strains slightly, trying to pick out one from another. _Please,_ he thinks. _Please._

The door to Takeshi’s left is flung open, and there stands a panting Tsuna, clothing and hair ruffled, cheeks red from exertion and eyes positively _wild._

Takeshi stands from his chair so abruptly that it tips back and falls to the ground. He meets Tsuna’s eyes, and he opens his mouth to say something, _anything,_ but Tsuna shoots forward and crashes into him before he gets the chance. Takeshi stumbles back but manages to stay standing, mostly supporting both his and Tsuna’s weight. His friend’s arms around him are like a vice, but Takeshi would never even think to complain, not with Tsuna against him like this.

“Takeshi,” Tsuna breathes, muffled into the crook of his Guardian’s shoulder. “ _Takeshi_.”

Takeshi screws his eyes shut, forcibly willing himself not to burst into tears at the sound of Tsuna’s voice. He hasn’t heard it in _days_ , not since they parted ways after school on Friday, right before Takeshi took Lambo and I-Pin to the park. “I’m okay,” Takeshi says, and he means it. “I’m okay, Tsuna.”

Tsuna shakes his head, forehead dragging across the fabric of Takeshi’s borrowed shirt, but he doesn’t say anything. And Takeshi would be perfectly content to stay like that, if Future Hibari didn’t walk past them with a pointed, “I thought you were looking for Chrome as well?”

Immediately, Tsuna goes rigid in Takeshi’s arms, and he jerks away, making a small sound in the back of his throat. “Chrome!” he says shrilly, turning to regard his other Guardian, who remains seated at the table. “I’m sorry, I – I wasn’t ignoring you, I just – “

“It’s okay, Sawada-sama,” Dokuro says happily, chin propped up in the palm of her hand. “I understand.”

Takeshi frowns, taking in the darkening redness on Tsuna’s cheeks. It’s only then that he notices the bandages wrapped around Tsuna’s neck and hands. “Are you okay?” he asks urgently, stepping forward to take Tsuna’s face in his hands and tilt his head this way and that, checking for injuries. Tsuna squawks but otherwise doesn’t fight Takeshi’s hold on him. “Did you run into enemies on your way here? What happened?”

“It was nothing, Takeshi, honestly!”

“They were nothing Boss couldn’t handle,” Gokudera says from beyond Tsuna’s shoulder. When their eyes meet, the look Gokudera fixes Takeshi with is entirely unimpressed, but Takeshi is just happy to see him. “Stop fussing over him.”

“I’ll fuss all I want,” Takeshi retorts, though he lets go of Tsuna’s face. “How did you guys end up in a fight? Wasn’t Hibari with you?”

“He showed up toward the end, but it’s not like he was of any help. Boss took care of those ugly bastards on his own.”

“Tsuna-nii was awesome!” Lambo cheers, punching the air from where he sits in the fold of Gokudera’s left arm. I-Pin, cradled in Gokudera’s other arm, leans away to avoid Lambo’s flailing limbs. “He was all _whoosh_ and _pow,_ and the bad guy ran away like a baby.”

“To report to his superiors, maybe,” Hibari comments drily from the other side of the room. He pulls out a bottle of water from the stainless-steel fridge before heading for the door leading further into the compound. He looks very much the same as he does in their original timeline, just taller and with slightly shorter hair. He’s wearing a black suit similar to the one Future Rokudo had worn, though the sleeves are pushed up at the elbows. Takeshi even thinks he sees a hint of pale scarring peeking out from the black fabric. “I’m going back to my rooms. Don’t bother me.”

“Is Hibari-senpai okay?” Dokuro asks once Hibari’s retreating footsteps have faded. “He seems… moodier than usual.”

“I don’t know what the fuck his problem is,” Gokudera grumbles, and Takeshi reflexively waits for Sasagawa to chide him for cursing in front of the kids only to remember that Sasagawa isn’t there. “He showed up to patch Boss’s wounds and then herded us all over here like a bunch of sheep. He didn’t even say a word the entire time!”

Lal sighs, running a hand through her hair. “Just give him space,” she says. “We can explain what’s going on just fine without him.”

Takeshi rights his toppled chair as the others settle around the table. He’s relieved when Tsuna sticks close, choosing the seat beside Takeshi to settle into. They share tiny smiles when their eyes meet, and for the first time in days, Takeshi feels like his usual self. “First,” Reborn says, “tell us what happened on your end, Tsuna.”

“Well, it started earlier in the day,” Tsuna begins. “I thought I felt something… weird, like when one of my friends uses the Bazooka and blips out of existence. It was right before you were supposed to show up at the house, so I thought maybe it had something to do with you?”

Reborn shows no outward reaction to Tsuna’s words, though Takeshi notices Lal fixing the hitman with a complicated look. “Interesting. And then?”

Tsuna frowns as he stares down at the table, tugging the sleeves of his orange hoodie down over his hands. “I figured I was just imagining things. But then it happened again later that night. I woke up thinking – Well, I felt Takeshi’s Flame disappear. I was… pretty upset.”

“Tsuna-nii cried,” Lambo whispers conspiratorially to Dokuro.

“Don’t be rude,” Gokudera snaps, bringing a hand down atop Lambo’s curls. It’s not even a real blow, but Lambo howls like Gokudera put all his strength into it. “Boss couldn’t have known what was going on.”

“Gokudera, Lambo, and I-Pin woke up, too,” Tsuna continues, the tips of his ears going red. “We tried looking for Lambo’s Bazooka, but it wasn’t where we normally keep it. And then I felt Chrome’s Flame disappear and _knew_ something was wrong.”

“I was leaving the – my house to come find you when it happened,” says Dokuro. “I don’t know who sent me here, but Yamamoto-senpai said Colonnello was the one who hit him with the Bazooka.”

“Colonnello?” Lal says sharply. “You’re sure?”

Takeshi nods. “He spoke to me right before. He told me not to get myself killed.”

A certain light enters Lal’s eyes that Takeshi hasn’t seen since he met her, and he then remembers the pacifier she wears around her neck. It stands to reason that she has some connection to both Colonnello and Reborn, although Takeshi can’t imagine what it might be. He doesn’t sense the same bloodlust from her that he does from Reborn and, on occasion, Colonnello.

“Colonnello couldn’t possibly have hit you all with Lambo’s Bazooka himself,” Reborn says. “The distance between your houses is too great to travel that quickly, even for him. He must’ve been working with someone else, but,” Reborn tilts his head toward Lal Mirch, “there’s only one person he would team up with.”

“I have no memory of doing this,” Lal snaps, though she seems uncertain. “Could we have branched off from the previous timeline?”

“Perhaps,” Reborn replies coolly. “But that clears some things up. Colonnello went behind my back, and where the kids are concerned, he’d only do that for you. And you’d only do something like this under Iemitsu’s orders.”

Tsuna straightens in his chair. “My dad? Why would he tell her to send us here?”

“And why would Colonnello and Lal have had to work together?” Takeshi asks. “Isn’t there only one Ten-Year Bazooka?”

“That we know of,” Gokudera corrects him. “Who said Lambo’s is the only one out there? The Vongola have access to technology and information the other Families _wish_ they could access. I wouldn’t be surprised if Iemitsu had an item like the Bazooka, or at least made a deal with the Bovino to have another one made.”

Lal pinches the bridge of her nose as she heaves a sigh. “Iemitsu wouldn’t do something like this.”

“Oh, I think he would,” Tsuna says darkly, and really, there’s nothing Lal can say to that, at least not to Tsuna’s face.

“There’s no point in speculating,” Reborn interjects. “We’ll deal with all that once we return to the past. For now, listen to what Lal has to say about the future.”

* * *

Any hope that took up residence in Takeshi’s chest when Dokuro told him not to assume Tsuna was actually dead vacates pretty quickly when Lal begins her explanation.

Tsuna had been dead for a little less than a year in this time. He was gunned down by Byakuran and his men during negotiations, right in the middle of the Vongola estate. The Tenth’s mother and Guardians elected to have his body cremated, and the grave in the woods was merely a fake. Tsuna’s ashes were being kept elsewhere, in a secret location only Nana and the Guardians knew about. Future Gokudera, Lambo, and I-Pin had gone out in the morning to visit their boss’ final resting place, and that’s where they’d all ended up when they were sent to the future, Tsuna included.

Before, Takeshi had wondered what would happen if there wasn’t a living body to switch with when time-traveling, and he supposes Lal’s words answer that question. It doesn’t really make him feel any better, but there are more important things to worry about.

In the end, they opt to lay low in the underground hideout while they try to figure out a way to return home. Lal doesn’t think getting them involved in the future’s problems will help solve anything, and although Tsuna disagrees, he backs down at a mere look from Reborn. “This is all so much bigger than you,” he says. “I won’t let you lose your lives here, not when you have things to take care of back home.”

“Okay, Reborn,” Tsuna says reluctantly. “If you say so.”

“Although,” Reborn continues thoughtfully, “this is a unique learning opportunity. You never have much time in the future. This is your chance to learn from future allies, become stronger.”

“It sounds like everyone’s dealing with a lot, though,” Dokuro says uncertainly. “We wouldn’t want to burden them when Millefiore is breathing down their necks.”

“We’ll have to lie low down here anyway,” Lal explains. “The rings appeared on the radar since you were all above ground, so they’ll likely send scouts. We’re all stuck where we are for the time being, not to mention the guests we’re expecting.”

Gokudera quirks an eyebrow. “Guests?”

The visitors, as it turns out, are Fuuka and Bianchi. Older and weathered, certainly, but not enough for Fuuta to not light up when he sees Tsuna, or for Gokudera to not go a sickly pale when he sees his sister.

“You’re still so scrawny,” she tells Gokudera.

“And you’re still an Eldritch horror monster,” Gokudera shoots back, but even he can’t hide how his voice shakes.

Bianchi doesn’t comment, although Takeshi has to wonder if it has anything to do with Tsuna’s unwavering stare at her back. Either way, she gives Gokudera his space, and they mostly ignore one another for the rest of the day.

After dinner, Takeshi retires to the room he’d been pointed toward, emotionally and mentally exhausted. He flops down onto the bed with a groan, debating whether or not he should go take a bath or wait until the morning. Before he can come to a decision, he hears a knock on his door, but Takeshi doesn’t even get a chance to respond before it bursts open. “Get up,” Gokudera says as Takeshi pushes himself up onto his elbows. “We’re going to find Hibari.”

“Uh, why? Didn’t you hear him, he told us to leave him alone.”

Gokudera crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the doorframe. “I want to ask him some things. I need to know how our plans for Byakuran went so wrong.”

Takeshi frowns, though he gets up from the bed without any further prompting. “What makes you think he’ll talk? What if this is like before, and we all made a promise to Tsuna that keeps us from talking about the future?”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out,” Gokudera says lowly, and he leads Takeshi through the darkened halls, back toward the mess hall and the corridor where Hibari had disappeared earlier in the day. “I asked Lal which rooms were Hibari’s. She said it would be easy to find them, because it’s the only part of the compound you can’t get into.”

Takeshi barks out a laugh, though he slaps a hand over his mouth when Gokudera rounds on him, pressing a finger to his lips. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “Why are we sneaking around, though?”

“The Boss doesn’t need to hear any of this,” Gokudera says. “But if he finds us, he’ll insist on coming along, so you need to be _quiet._ ”

“Okay, okay, sheesh, I’ll shut up. God, I missed you, too, Hayato.”

“Oh, we’ll be talking about you _later,_ ” Gokudera hisses, and they separate to try each of the doors on either side of the hallway they’re in. The first doorknob Takeshi reaches for turns easily, so he moves on to the next one. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your bullshit ‘sickness.’ Or how you’ve barely responded to any of our messages lately. You’ve caused Tsuna a lot of unnecessary stress, you know.”

Takeshi winces as he tries another door, which opens up to reveal what looks like a small arsenal. Making a note of it for later, he shuts the door. “It’s not like I meant to,” he says. In all the excitement, he’d totally forgotten about his resolution to tell everyone about what he’s been dealing with lately. Now doesn’t even seem like the time, but Takeshi knows he won’t be able to stay quiet if Gokudera or Tsuna start pressing hard enough. “I just had some things I had to deal with.”

“Don’t we all,” Gokudera mutters. “Look, Takeshi, I’m not… trying to interrogate you or anything. I’m just – Tsuna is worried. We _all_ are.”

“I know,” Takeshi says. Nana had told him as much, after all. “And I promise to tell you everything once we’re back home.”

He glances over his shoulder at where he thinks Gokudera to be only to find that Gokudera is looking back. The Storm Guardian nods when their eyes meet. “I’ll hold you to that,” he says.

They make their way through the entire corridor, opening up every door, only to come face to face with a dauntingly large steel door. “There’s no lock or anything,” Gokudera says as he looks around. “This has to be it.”

“Hibari would live in a vault,” Takeshi observes, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. “This makes perfect sense.”

“Yeah, well.” Gokudera cracks his knuckles, and the expression on his face is weirdly eager as his hands begin to dance with scarlet Flame. “This stupid door won’t withstand Degeneration.”

“Hibari’s gonna bite you to death.”

“I’d like to see him – ”

 _“Dying Will signature confirmed,”_ a mechanical voice sounds from somewhere around them, and Gokudera jumps back from the door as the metal parts in the middle and begins to slide open. _“Welcome, Gokudera Hayato.”_

The two of them exchange a glance before peering through the gradually widening crack in the door. “Hibari’s _rooms_?” Gokudera says incredulously. “This is an entirely different _compound.”_

The space on the other side of the door looks entirely different from the rest of the hideout. The tiled floor on their side abruptly changes into tatami flooring, and it stretches probably as far as the hallway behind them. There are sliding, paper doors with floral patterns on either wall, and there’s even a foyer to leave their shoes.

“What does Hibari even need all this space for?” Takeshi wonders aloud as they move further into the compound. After kicking off their shoes, of course, because Hibari’s already going to kill them, but maybe he’ll make it painless if they remember their manners. “Why couldn’t _we_ stay here? This looks so much nicer than everything else.”

“It was originally intended for another purpose,” a voice says behind them, and Takeshi and Gokudera whirl around only to come face-to-face with… someone. Takeshi recognizes him in theory, but he can’t place a name to the man standing before them. They hadn’t even heard him walking up. “Kyou-san hates it when people show up unannounced.”

_Kyou-san?_

“Kusakabe?” Gokudera splutters, and Takeshi suddenly remembers. Kusakabe Tetsuya, a member of Hibari’s Disciplinary Committee from Namimori Middle. “What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you that,” Kusakabe counters, much to Gokudera’s apparent annoyance.

“Hey, the system thing authorized me or whatever – “

“Don’t bother, Tetsuya,” another voice calls from deeper within the compound, one that Takeshi actually recognizes. Hibari has appeared from behind one of the open sliding doors further down the hall when Takeshi turns to look. He’s close enough that Takeshi can see the bored, unimpressed look on his face. “They’ll do what they want anyway.”

“Of course,” Kusakabe says automatically, and Hibari slips back into the room he’d come from. “Could I ask what you need? Kyou-san usually heads to bed around this time.”

“We have questions for him,” Gokudera says even as he takes hold of Takeshi’s wrist and tugs him toward Hibari’s room. “It won’t take long.”

Takeshi offers Kusakabe a half-hearted wave of goodbye and follows where Gokudera leads him. When they reach the doorway, they see Hibari sitting on his knees atop a silk, navy cushion in the middle of the room. He’s dressed in a black kimono and holding a red, Japanese teacup in his hands, and although he doesn’t speak, he inclines his head as if to beckon them further into the room.

Takeshi moves further into the room as Gokudera slides the door shut behind them. Three more silk cushions sit opposite Hibari, but apart from a few Japanese print-block paintings on the walls, the room is entirely bare. “You… sleep here?” Takeshi asks as he sinks down onto the closest cushion.

“No,” Hibari replies. “I have my nightly drink in here.”

“Are you going to share?” Gokudera asks as he walks behind Takeshi and plops down on the middle cushion. “I don’t really drink tea, but I need _something_ to calm my nerves after the day we just had.”

“Oh, no,” Hibari says after taking another drink. “This is imported German whiskey. Don’t tell Tetsuya.”

Takeshi bursts out laughing while Gokudera’s mouth pops open in shock. “Well, my point still stands!” he exclaims. “ _Are_ you going to share?”

Hibari scoffs. “I refuse to give alcohol to minors.”

“I absolutely fucking hate it here,” says Gokudera.

Takeshi continues to laugh, wiping tears from his eyes as Hibari sets the cup down on the wooden tray before his knees. “You two are terrible drunks anyway,” he says, “and I’m not in the mood to play babysitter.”

“Fine then,” Gokudera growls as Takeshi finishes composing himself. “Will you answer some of my questions? I need to know what happened to the Tenth. Where did we go _wrong?_ ”

Hibari’s face betrays nothing as he tucks his hands into the sleeves of his kimono. “Maybe my memory is failing me, but I’m certain we grew up knowing our future selves would never tell us anything important about the future.”

“That’s such bullshit! Lal told us all kinds of things.”

“Lal Mirch isn’t a Guardian of the Tenth,” Hibari replies.

Takeshi feels just as frustrated as Gokudera, but he stays quiet. Something about the way Hibari is interacting with them feels off. He remembers what Gokudera said earlier about Hibari not saying a word to them on the way back to the hideout, and how Hibari hadn’t spared much time for them before sequestering himself away after his return.

It’s like how Hibari used to treat them, before the Battle for the Rings. But it doesn’t feel quite the same. Takeshi can’t really put his finger on it, but this Hibari is different from the one in the past in some fundamental way.

“You’re full of shit,” Gokudera says. “What happened to all those things you said in the past about preserving the Boss’ legacy? Is _this_ his legacy? A future where he died young because his Guardians couldn’t protect him?”

Takeshi has no idea what Gokudera is talking about, though the words mean something to Hibari, if the way his jaw twitches is anything to go by. “You were truly insufferable as a child.”

“Oh, yeah? Is that why you haven’t looked me in the eye _once_ since this afternoon? Or the Boss? Are we too _insufferable_ for you?”

That’s it, Takeshi realizes. Hibari’s eyes are more expressive than any of his other features, and he’s always seemed to know it. When he speaks, he always makes direct eye-contact, never shying away from confrontation.

This entire time, and even back in the mess hall, Hibari’s eyes have always been directed downward.

And Takeshi thinks he understands why that is when Hibari’s dark eyes finally flit up to greet them. “Would you believe me,” Hibari asks lowly, “if I told you it was too painful?”

Gokudera has nothing to say, not that Takeshi would’ve expected him to. There’s nothing either of them can say when Hibari looks at them like _that,_ like the sight of them is more than he can bear.

“I know this was recent for you,” Hibari continues, “but do you remember what you told me about why you couldn’t be Tsuna’s right hand, Takeshi?”

Takeshi shifts on his legs. “That Hayato was better suited for it. That I belonged in Tsuna’s shadow, not at his side.”

“And do you know what I thought when you told me those things?” When Takeshi shakes his head, Hibari says, “I thought it was bullshit. I thought you were the stupidest creature I’d ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

Takeshi half expects Hibari’s eyes to turn violet the way they do when he gets passionate about something, but the familiar light never once enters Hibari’s gaze. “If you weren’t worthy to stand at Tsuna’s side, then none of us were,” Hibari continues. “What did it say about the rest of us if Tsuna’s most trusted Guardian didn’t even trust himself? It was absurd to me. But you know what? You were right. None of us deserved our positions, not when we couldn’t help our Sky when he needed us the most.”

Shock renders Takeshi silent. He’s never heard Hibari talk like this, not about Tsuna or anyone else.

“If you really believe that,” Gokudera says at length, “then help us. Help us fix this. We can still save Tsuna.”

For a second, Hibari actually looks _angry._ “Stop asking,” he snaps. “Don’t you think I know how irrational this is? That we’re all bound by a promise we made when we were too young to know any better? We may have nothing left, but we still have our word, and we’ll keep it until Byakuran comes for us all.”

“Where’s Rokudo?” Takeshi asks hoarsely. “He’ll tell us. He doesn’t care about keeping promises.”

“I have no idea where he is. Millefiore reported that they killed him, but Chrome is still alive, so that can’t be the truth. Regardless, he doesn’t want to be found, so you’ll be getting no answers from him this time.”

Takeshi feels helpless as he regards Hibari. Now that he knows what to look for, he recognizes the grief that Rokudo carried in the other timeline, the grief Takeshi so often found reflected within a mirror. It just seems like Hibari’s manifested in a way so counterintuitive to how he used to carry himself.

Takeshi just doesn’t know what to do before an ashamed Hibari Kyouya.

“Tsuna had this part of the compound constructed right before his death,” Hibari says suddenly. “It was meant for him and us Guardians. The door only opens for our individual energy signatures.”

“Why would Tsuna do that?” Takeshi asks, genuinely confused. “That’s so – He doesn’t care about things like this.”

Hibari turns his face away from them, then. He looks to the ground, jaw stiff, brow furrowed. “He wanted us to have somewhere we could get away from all of this,” he says. “A place where we could be as we were before… before everything.”

When put in those terms, it’s such a Tsuna thing to do. Of course he would think about his Guardians and their comfort, even during a fight for their very lives. “The others won’t come here,” Hibari adds. “It’s too hard for them, I suppose, so this has become my home.”

“I’m… sorry,” Gokudera says quietly, and his head is bowed when Takeshi glances at him. “I didn’t think – I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“It doesn’t matter. But to answer your question: yes, this is my Boss’ legacy. Millefiore has destroyed everything else, but this, at least, remains,” Hibari says with an air of resignation. “I’m sorry I can’t give you any of the other answers you want. But I won’t apologize for not wanting to look at you and remember what was taken from us.”

Gokudera keeps his head bowed, seemingly truly regretful. Takeshi feels as if Hibari is one push away from kicking them out, but something has been bothering him since that afternoon, and he knows that Hibari is the person he has to ask. "I saw Tsuna's grave. Or the fake one, anyway," Takeshi says. "What does the last line say? I couldn't translate it."

Slowly, Hibari removes his hands from his sleeves and leans forward to pick up his cup. He takes a long drink before replying, and when he does, he looks Takeshi directly in the eye. "That's funny, since you were the one who came up with it. The direct translation is 'The sky welcomes you.'"

* * *

Takeshi and Gokudera leave Hibari to his solitude. They walk shoulder to shoulder back to the corridor of rooms given to them by Lal Mirch, but they don’t say a single word to each other.

When Takeshi turns into his own room, Gokudera silently follows him. When the door shuts behind him, Takeshi asks, “What do we do now, Hayato?”

“Sleep. Cry,” Gokudera replies, and Takeshi finds himself nodding. “But in the morning, we’re gonna pick ourselves up and figure out a way to save Tsuna.”

As tired and drained as Takeshi feels, part of him feels invigorated by the answer. He’d already been of a similar mind, but it’s nice to know that he isn’t alone in his determination, even when it seems hopeless. “Our Hibari had already told me about what you said,” Gokudera says. “About the right-hand thing, and not wanting to know our plans to save Tsuna until the day came. But, Takeshi… I don’t think that’s going to work. You _have_ to help us. If we’re going to save Tsuna, it’s going to take all of us.”

Takeshi nods. “Okay. I can’t promise to keep a level head all the time, but… I’ll try.”

Gokudera sighs, linking his hands together behind his head. “Our training starts tomorrow. But in every spare moment we have, we need to be thinking about this. We can’t waste a single second.”

“I agree.”

“And, Takeshi,” Gokudera says as he turns to leave the room, “I’m not going to accept you just giving up on being Tsuna’s right-hand. I’m going to win over you for the position, fair and square. So, no more talk about keeping to the shadows, or I’ll beat your ass.”

Takeshi laughs despite himself, staring fondly at Gokudera’s retreating back until it disappears behind his closed door. “Okay,” Takeshi says to no one. “Time to get serious.”


	14. Chapter 14

The following morning is the last real moment of peace any of them get for the rest of their stay in the future. The smell of breakfast cooking draws Takeshi and the others from their rooms and to the kitchen, only to find that the future versions of Sasagawa, Kyouko, and Haru have arrived in the underground bunker sometime during the night or early morning.

The girls appear very much unchanged despite the added height and longer hair. Haru sees Tsuna and immediately bursts into tears, and Kyouko seems similarly saddened, though she remains composed as she smiles and wishes them a good morning. Tsuna accepts the hugs they give him with wide eyes, though he shoots Takeshi and Gokudera a look of pure bewilderment.

Gokudera shrugs. Takeshi just looks away.

Even Hibari makes a brief appearance, trudging in with dark circles under his eyes and a _canary_ of all things on his shoulder. “Since when do you keep birds?” Gokudera asks, holding Lambo back when the kid makes grabby hands at Hibari’s… pet?

“Since I was a child,” Hibari replies, but he doesn’t elaborate before taking the banana Kyouko hands him and disappearing again. And just when Takeshi thought he might be starting to understand the Cloud Guardian.

They receive a basic run-down of how things have changed: specifically, how they’ll have to fight. Lal tells them about items called Box Weapons, and how they’ll come to shape the mafia world in the future. But since she makes it very clear they’re not allowed to touch the Box Weapons used by their future selves, Takeshi pays very little attention to what comes after.

When they finish having breakfast, the adults break them up for individual training. Reborn is quick to say that he’ll be training Takeshi, which seems to contradict his earlier point about learning from their future allies, but whatever. Lal Mirch asks Sasagawa to help her work with Tsuna and Dokuro, and Sasagawa agrees with little fanfare. He even seems a little excited, Takeshi notes. After the previous night’s encounter with Hibari, Takeshi has found himself watching Sasagawa closely, trying to gauge how he reacts to them, reacts to Tsuna.

Some part of Takeshi hopes that Sasagawa will answer their questions, although he isn’t exactly hopeful. Sasagawa is similar to Hibari in that he’s very prideful, albeit in his own way. He’s usually pretty laidback and easygoing when it doesn’t come to boxing or his sister, but he takes things more seriously than most people probably realize.

The way Sasagawa looks at Tsuna is different from Hibari’s method, which was to borderline ignore him. His eyes go fond like they do when he sees Kyouko or watches Lambo and I-Pin play together, and he ruffles Tsuna’s hair once the girls have finished greeting him. There’s still a certain lack of light to Sasagawa’s eyes that Takeshi thinks he recognizes, but there’s no doubt in his mind that Sasagawa’s devotion to Tsuna is still very much in-tact.

They may not get any answers from him either, but Takeshi finds himself comforted by Sasagawa’s presence, nonetheless.

Despite her deference the previous night, Bianchi announces that she’ll be training Gokudera and doesn’t back down when her brother nearly throws up at the mere thought of being alone with her. Lambo actually _hisses_ at the woman when he notices this particular confrontation and, along with I-Pin, has to be ushered from the room by Kyouko and Haru.

“I can go with you,” Takeshi says to Gokudera as the Storm Guardian struggles to compose himself. “There’s no reason you have to be alone with her.”

“That would defeat the whole point,” Bianchi says in irritation, but Takeshi ignores her, keeping his eyes on Gokudera. Tsuna and Dokuro have already left with Lal Mirch and Sasagawa, and that’s probably the reason why Bianchi feels comfortable pushing the issue. Tsuna would probably put his foot down if he were here and could physically experience Gokudera’s discomfort.

“Hayato,” he says slowly, deliberately. “Do you want me to go with you?”

For a moment, it looks like Gokudera might say yes, but then his expression shudders, and he shakes his head. “No, you need to go with Reborn-san. I’ll be fine.”

Takeshi isn’t convinced, but Gokudera is closed off to him in a way that’s become unfamiliar. And Takeshi can’t do anything about it. He isn’t Tsuna. So, he leaves Gokudera with his sister and follows Reborn, even if doing so leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

“Gokudera could stand to overcome his issues with Bianchi, you know,” Reborn says almost conversationally.

Takeshi taps the end of Shigure Kintoki against his shoulder, which Sasagawa had brought to him earlier in the morning. “Does he, though? It’s not like Tsuna has any interest in making her part of the Vongola. She’s only around because of you.”

Reborn hums. “I wonder.”

The hitman leads Takeshi to a dojo. It looks similar to the one they had at Namimori Middle, and Takeshi wonders if Hibari or Sasagawa had any hand in designing it. It’s pretty dark in the room, the only light coming from a dozen or so candles lined up near the wall opposite the entrance. “Are we working on honing my other senses or something?” Takeshi asks. “Like if it’s dark, then I’ll have to rely on my hearing?”

“We could probably try something like that later. You’d definitely benefit from some experience with less than ideal conditions.”

“Then, what? More Flame training?” Takeshi remembers what Sasagawa had told him about Reborn never using his Flames during their training sessions, even if it would’ve been helpful to Sasagawa’s development. It’s something Takeshi hasn’t given much thought considering everything else that’s been going on, but it does seem weird to him. They’ve all come to rely heavily on the weird powers they’ve developed since becoming involved with the Vongola, and Takeshi can’t imagine that someone like Reborn just doesn’t need to use them.

“I can’t really help you with your Flames,” says Reborn. “You, Tsuna, and Hibari are already far ahead of the others in that regard. That’s not what this is about.”

Takeshi frowns, confused. “O… kay?”

Reborn regards Takeshi coolly, tilting his head up so that Takeshi can catch a decent look at his expression. What Takeshi sees there gives him pause. “I’ve decided to show you,” the hitman continues, “what it means to be the strongest.”

In an instant, Takeshi becomes lightheaded, and his entire body goes cold. He’s petrified, locked in a staring contest with a pair of eyes so black and frigid it feels as if they’ll swallow Takeshi whole.

 _I’m going to die,_ Takeshi realizes, and then his mind goes blank.

The next thing Takeshi knows, he’s lying on his back in the middle of the room, clutching Shigure Kintoki in an iron-lock grip. There’s a pressure around his throat – a hand, Takeshi is slow to realize – along with a foot pinning his wrist to the ground, and those same terrifying eyes are gazing down at him from a face he doesn’t recognize.

“Your instincts really are unparalleled,” the man above Takeshi muses, “but you’ll have to keep training if you want to take me on.”

“Re… born,” Takeshi says, because nothing else makes sense. The man pinning him down by the throat is unfamiliar in every way, but those _eyes,_ paired with the fact that Leon is balancing lazily on the brim of the man’s hat, makes anything else impossible. “What… “

The grip around his throat relaxes, but Takeshi stays exactly where he is as the other pressure on his wrist eases, and Reborn stands to his full height above him. It’s hard to make out much in the gloom, but Takeshi thinks he has to be at least one-hundred and eighty centimeters, much taller than Takeshi’s own father.

“I’ll tell you,” Reborn says. “You and Tsuna and the others. I’ll tell you everything about myself, but that will have to come later. For now, I want you to remember that I let you catch a glimpse of who I am, what I can do, and you came after me without a thought in your head. Not just anyone can do that.”

It doesn’t seem impressive to Takeshi, who remains sprawled on the ground, inexplicably weakened and scared. His mind is muddled, Tranquility warring with the sense that he should probably stay cognizant enough to listen to what Reborn is telling him. “I know you’re scared.” Reborn grunts as he lowers himself into a crouch, and Takeshi tracks his movement with his eyes as best he can. “You’d have to be an idiot not to be. But your sword is still active.”

Takeshi nods slightly. Shigure Kintoki won’t deactivate. It trembles in Takeshi’s grip in a way it hasn’t since his fight with Squalo.

“You’re scared, but you’d still fight. You’re not afraid to die. And that’s what’ll make you the greatest hitman someday, Yamamoto.”

“Even… greater than you?”

Reborn nods, the barest hint of a grin tugging at his mouth. “But only after I’m dead.”

As if anyone could kill Reborn. Takeshi is now of the mind that nothing short of divine intervention could bring this man to his knees. What has he been doing messing around tutoring a bunch of kids? It never made sense to Takeshi before, but it’s especially confusing now.

“Was there a point to this?” Takeshi asks. His mind has mostly cleared, and he pushes himself up onto his elbows, drawing Shigure Kintoki closer to himself. Reborn doesn’t move, just stays in his crouched position and watches Takeshi compose himself. “Aside from you asserting your dominance or whatever?”

Reborn snorts, shaking his head. “I can tell you’ve been slipping. Killing is no joke, but you have the gift for it, if only you’d stop over-complicating things.”

“What am I supposed to do, then?”

The man reaches forward to flick Takeshi’s forehead. “Stop thinking, for one. Let some of the others deal with the complicated things. All you have to do is protect your Sky, and if you need to kill in order to do that, then so be it. It doesn’t have to be any more difficult than that.”

“I don’t want to be a monster,” Takeshi says quietly. He thinks about his talk with his father, about what his father had said about not killing indiscriminately. “I don’t want Tsuna to be afraid of me.”

Reborn is quiet for a long moment. He stands up again, offering a hand to Takeshi, which the younger boy takes. Only after Takeshi has been pulled to his feet does Reborn say, “I think Tsuna knows who you are better than anyone, and he still comes running to you, every single time.”

The words make Takeshi’s eyes burn. Nana said something similar, and Takeshi desperately wants to believe what they’ve been telling him. It would be easier if the possible consequences for being truthful wouldn’t strip Takeshi of everything he’s come to love.

“Like I said before,” says Reborn. “Your greatest asset is that you aren’t afraid of death. Your feelings for Tsuna blind you from that, but that’s nothing becoming stronger won’t fix. Become strong and help him do the same. That’s the only way you can all survive in this world.”

Takeshi takes a shaky breath, and only then does Shigure Kintoki go dormant in his grasp. “Okay. I’ll try.”

“You’ll do more than try,” Reborn retorts sharply. “You’ll succeed, and not just because I’ll be there to help you.”

In the silence following Reborn’s words, there’s a moment where Takeshi thinks he sees a faint glow in the pacifier the man always wears around his neck. He wants to ask about it, but something distracts him: a phantom pulse at his temple, a sudden skip in the beat of his heart.

Takeshi stiffens.

_Tsuna._

* * *

Takeshi and Gokudera nearly collide in the hallway in their scramble to find Tsuna. Gokudera’s eyes are huge and wild, showcasing every ounce of terror Takeshi feels within himself. He’s heard the others talk about it before, that instinctive feeling they get when Tsuna’s emotions become too powerful to contain. Takeshi has always been in the future when it happened, so he’s ultimately unprepared for how his heart races, how he’s nearly panicked with the innate knowledge that Tsuna _needs_ him, needs him _now._

Reborn, back to his normal size and perched on Takeshi’s shoulder, doesn’t even have words to reassure them as they race through the compound, purposefully propelled forward by some inexplicable force within themselves.

Takeshi had seen Reborn’s eyes change, right before he reverted back to his usual form. The hitman doesn’t know what’s going on either.

When they reach the training grounds, the first thing Takeshi notices is Dokuro, breathing hard and pointing her borrowed trident at Hibari. There’s a giant, spiked purple ball just beyond them, and Takeshi doesn’t know what it is, exactly, but he just _knows_ that Tsuna is inside.

Sasagawa stands between Dokuro and Hibari, hands held up in a placating manner as he says, “Chrome-chan, Kyouya means well, he’s just – “

“What’s going on?” Reborn demands before Takeshi and Gokudera can find their breath.

“Training,” Hibari says, entirely unbothered by Dokuro’s apparent animosity toward him.

“He trapped Sawada-sama with his Box Weapon,” Dokuro says sharply, and Takeshi doesn’t think he’s ever heard her like this when she isn’t being possessed by Rokudo. She inclines her head toward Takeshi and Gokudera but doesn’t look at them directly, never once shifting her focus from Hibari. “He said he has to get out on his own, and if he doesn’t, Sawada-sama will die.”

Takeshi feels Reborn hop down from his shoulder as he takes a step forward, retightening his hold on Shigure Kintoki as it activates without conscious effort on his part. “ _Hibari,_ ” he growls, not recognizing his own voice.

“What kind of training is that?” Gokudera demands as he and Takeshi come to stand beside Dokuro. He has a stick of dynamite in each hand, though it’s a wonder they don’t snap in half with how tightly he holds them. “What good is it if the Boss _dies_?”

Sasagawa looks particularly helpless as he shifts his gaze among the three of them. “Guys, he wouldn’t – “

“Ryouhei,” says Hibari, and Sasagawa quiets immediately. “It’s fine. Let them do what they want.”

“Kyouya,” Sasagawa sighs, but he reluctantly stands aside as Kyouko, Haru, and the others come into the room.

“What’s going on?” Fuuta asks. “Where’s Sawada-sama?”

“Lambo-chan just started crying out of nowhere,” Haru says tearfully. “Is everything alright?”

They’re mostly ignored by the three past Guardians, standing opposite Hibari, who appears to be as calm and composed as ever. He inclines his head as he gives them all a once over, quirking one dark brow in question. “Well? If you have something to say, then say it.”

“Let Tsuna out,” Takeshi says evenly, staring down the length of Shigure Kintoki’s blade to where Hibari stands on the other side. “He’s panicking. What you’re doing to him isn’t right.”

Hibari’s mouth twitches into a frown. “Was he always so fragile?”

“Anyone would be scared in a situation like that, all alone,” Dokuro says, voice shaking. “Even you, Hibari-senpai.”

Hibari shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest. “He probably has four hours until he runs out of oxygen, if he’s smart about it,” he says, as if that’s information that would placate the three of them in any way. “All he has to do is find a way out.”

“What are you doing, Hibari?” Gokudera growls. “What about all those things you said last night? You lost your Tsuna, so now you want to take ours? Is that it?”

“If you don’t think he can do even this much,” Hibari replies, “then he doesn’t deserve your loyalty.”

Gokudera emits a sound reminiscent of a snarl, Flames licking the wicks of his dynamite but not igniting them, but Takeshi finds himself hesitating. Hibari’s words – along with the reminder of the previous night, how Hibari had bared himself to them as best he could – make the blood roaring in Takeshi’s ears seem less urgent.

Gokudera turns to Takeshi, wide-eyed, as Shigure Kintoki reverts back to its dormant form. “What are you _doing_? The Boss needs us!”

Takeshi says nothing as he sinks to his knees and makes himself comfortable on the floor, setting Shigure Kintoki off to the side but still within reaching distance. “Tsuna can handle this,” he tells Gokudera. “He doesn’t need us butting in.”

“Takeshi-kun,” he hears Kyouko say from somewhere behind him, though he ignores her.

“Are you insane? Can’t you feel him, he’s _dying!”_

“He’s not.” Even if it feels like Tsuna might be. Even if it feels as if Takeshi is turning his back on the most important thing in his life. “Tsuna will make it out before he runs out of oxygen.” Takeshi’s hands curl into fists atop his thighs. “And I’m not moving until then.”

Dokuro, who hasn’t said a single thing this entire time, lowers her trident. She remains quiet as she settles down beside Takeshi, tucking her skirt under her legs and clasping her hands together in her lap.

As she settles, Takeshi catches Hibari’s gaze, who turned to watch them when Gokudera started yelling, but his dark eyes flit away almost immediately, refocusing on the spiked forcefield encasing Tsuna. Hibari slips his hands into the pockets of his slacks and shifts his weight, though he makes no move to leave.

“Take-nii?” Lambo and I-Pin have appeared at Takeshi’s side, staring up at him fearfully. “Take-nii,” I-Pin says again, “will Tsuna-nii be okay?”

“Of course he will, Tsuna’s the best,” Takeshi assures them, patting Lambo’s head when the toddler’s lips start trembling. “Here, come sit with us, we’ll wait for him together, okay?”

Lambo is quick to scramble onto Takeshi’s folded legs, while I-Pin hurries around to Gokudera, who’s still standing over them defiantly. “Hayato-nii, too,” she says, catching Gokudera’s trembling hand in her own. “Let’s wait together.”

The raw fear and fury in Gokudera’s expression melts away, and he goes where I-Pin leads him, sinking to his knees on Takeshi’s other side.

Four hours pass. Takeshi, Gokudera, and Dokuro don’t speak to one another, their attention firmly fixed on the Box Weapon containing Tsuna. Even the kids are quiet and subdued in a way they’ve never been before. Reborn, Sasagawa, and the others stay in the room, but they keep their distance, only periodically speaking in voices too low for Takeshi to make out even if he wanted to.

And then there’s Hibari, separate from all of them, never once taking his eyes away from his Box Weapon.

Takeshi can still feel what he can only describe as Tsuna’s Flame energy, but it’s become weaker over time, gradually, like Tsuna is doing his best to drag out the little time he has to pass Hibari’s test.

Every breath Takeshi takes rattles his chest, hits a nerve in each part of his body. Remaining still is a true lesson in discipline, and he knows that Gokudera and Dokuro – even Lambo, if his intermittent whimpering is anything to go by – are suffering just as he is.

But beyond all that, when Takeshi closes his eyes, he only feels assured. Because he believes in Tsuna, even more than wishing on stars, more than miracles. Tsuna will overcome this trial just like he has all the others, and he’ll come back to them with a sheepish smile and an apology for worrying them, just as he always does.

Takeshi thinks about the bench in his room, the light-polluted stars that brought Tsuna to him, and then there’s a loud sound, like cracks forming in ice; when Takeshi opens his eyes, he sees the fractures forming on Hibari’s Box Weapon.

“Tsuna-nii!” Lambo wails, and the solidified wall of Cloud Flames explodes before them.

Takeshi grabs Lambo and hunches over his struggling form, shielding him from the force of the blast, and he thinks he sees Gokudera do the same with I-Pin from the corner of his eye. Kyouko and Haru cry out from somewhere behind them, but as the smoke clears, and Takeshi lifts his head, his attention is focused on a single point.

There are next to no signs of Tsuna having spent the past four hours struggling to preserve energy and oxygen. He stands tall, encompassed in orange Sky Flame that burns so strong it creates a draft all around him. Tsuna’s expression speaks of calm as he lifts his hands to inspect them, and Takeshi sees that the X-Gloves appear different, now adorning deep blue crests on the back of each hand. They bear the Sky Ring’s insignia, and Takeshi can’t place a name to the feeling that bubbles in his chest as he looks at them.

Takeshi nearly chokes on his next inhale as Tsuna lifts his gaze, focuses on him. “Takeshi,” Tsuna says, and a shiver races down Takeshi’s back. He’s had the fire and intensity of Tsuna in Dying Will Mode directed at him before, but that had been in fear, in anger. The way Tsuna looks at him this time is entirely different, and it sets every nerve of Takeshi’s body alight. “My Rain,” Tsuna says again, eyes bright and unfathomably deep. “My Guardians. You really are always there when I need you.”

Those honey-gold eyes roll, and Tsuna’s Sky Flames have sputtered out by the time he hits the floor.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the break between updates, I've recently gotten into BTS and uh... well, let's just say I have suddenly lost the ability to prioritize 
> 
> I'm not exactly sure how many more chapters this will be. I have the rest of the story planned out/know how it will end, but I can't say how long it will take to get there. I'd definitely say this fic is more than halfway over though! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me!

Takeshi spends the rest of the day at Tsuna’s bedside. People come and go periodically – mostly Gokudera, who’s dragged away by Bianchi each time – but Takeshi resolves to stay exactly where he is, even if Tsuna hasn’t so much as twitched since collapsing in the training facility.

If it weren’t for the melodic rise and fall of the blanket covering him, Takeshi would think something was horribly wrong. But Reborn said Tsuna had gone beyond his previous limits, and that it wouldn’t be unusual for him to sleep through to the next day. All Takeshi can do is trust and wait.

Lambo and I-Pin are curled up on either side of Tsuna under the blankets, completely dead to the world in that way only kids are. Lambo in particular had been inconsolable before he’d cried himself to sleep, but it had made sense to Takeshi. Both of the kids adore Tsuna, but only Lambo has a bond strengthened by their Dying Wills. If Takeshi can barely handle the unnerving silence of his connection with Tsuna, then how is a literal toddler supposed to fare any better?

Takeshi sighs to himself, scanning Tsuna’s sleep-slack face without urgency. He doesn’t do this often – doesn’t _allow_ himself to do this often. Tsuna is too perceptive and feels attention like a physical weight, and Takeshi doesn’t want to think about what would happen if Tsuna just _caught_ him looking like this.

His eyes follow the slow of Tsuna’s nose, the dip of his mouth. His skin has darkened slightly over the months, and Takeshi spots clusters of freckles that he doesn’t think were there before. Tsuna really has changed so much since they were kids, and even more since that day on the school roof.

 _I could’ve died,_ Takeshi finds himself thinking, not at all for the first time. He’s contemplated it often since his talk with his father in a way he never let himself do before. Takeshi’s life could’ve easily ended in Namimori Middle’s courtyard, and he wouldn't be here to watch over Tsuna in this way, to look after him in the way he needs.

Life is weird. And much too short.

The door opens with a low creaking sound, and Takeshi glances over his shoulder to watch as Dokuro slips into the room. “I’m sorry,” she says quietly. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“I wasn’t sleeping,” Takeshi replies, turning back around to rest his chin on his forearms. “And don’t worry, the three of them will probably be out until morning.”

Dokuro sits down in the chair that’s been empty since Gokudera was dragged away by Bianchi hours ago. Her visible eye is slightly bloodshot as she looks over Tsuna and the kids in turn. “Sawada-sama hasn’t moved at all?”

Takeshi shakes his head and says nothing. Nothing he says could possibly reassure her. They aren’t used to Tsuna only being physically available to them. They’ve forgotten what it means to be alone in their bodies, and they only realized it after Tsuna’s Dying Will went silent.

Takeshi doesn’t know how he never noticed. Tsuna spoke about his connection to them like it was something he was constantly aware of, but Takeshi hadn’t known how to recognize Tsuna’s presence within himself until he was gone.

It’s not like how it would be if Tsuna were to die, or at least Takeshi doesn’t think so. Takeshi still feels every bit the Vongola Rain Guardian, but his Flame feels listless. Like it’s just… waiting.

“I’ve never felt that way in my life,” Dokuro says, voice hushed, as if she knows what Takeshi is thinking. Takeshi allows his eyes to drift shut as he listens. “Sawada-sama has been scared and upset before, but… not like that.”

“You should call him Tsuna,” Takeshi says. “He’d like that.”

“Would he?” Dokuro asks, though she huffs out a quiet laugh through her nose soon after. “Never mind, that was a silly question. I’d like that, too, I think.”

Takeshi can clearly picture it. Tsuna becomes flustered when people aside from Nana call him by name, at least at first, but if it were coming from a cute girl? Takeshi doubts it will have the same effect as if it were Kyouko calling to him, but Tsuna does have a certain soft spot for Dokuro. It would definitely make Tsuna happy if Dokuro were to drop the formalities for him.

“Are you okay, senpai?” Dokuro asks, and Takeshi opens his eyes, takes in Tsuna’s sleeping face again before turning to Dokuro. She looks at him solemnly, and Takeshi feels even more like a bird with a broken wing than he already did. “I know how much he means to you. This must be difficult.”

“He means a lot to all of us,” Takeshi says, almost reflexively. He doesn’t want to talk about this, not now. Not while Tsuna is here, so close yet completely unreachable. “We’re all worried.”

Dokuro meets his gaze evenly for a few seconds before looking away, and Takeshi quietly releases the breath he’d been holding. “I won’t make you talk about it,” she says, and Takeshi honestly feels like crying. He’d spent so much time avoiding his friends before they were sent to the future, and it’s only just now hitting him how much he’d missed them. Dokuro, Hibari, and Rokudo still hold themselves somewhat separately from everyone else, but Dokuro, at least, becomes warmer every time they speak.

Dokuro is still hesitating, still withholding some piece of herself, but even so, Takeshi’s chest aches with how much he loves her in that moment.

“This whole thing has been very hard for me,” Dokuro says as she watches Tsuna breathe. “I’m not used to being separated from Mukuro-sama like this. No matter how far away he is, he’s always been with me. And I know he’ll be there when we get home, but it’s… hard to wait in the meantime.”

“I’m sorry,” Takeshi says. “It sucks, missing someone that much.”

Dokuro picks at the seam of her jeans as she says, “He’s the closest thing to family I have. I don’t like that he has no way of knowing what happened. I just… don’t want him to worry about me.”

Takeshi doesn’t ask if Rokudo is even capable of that much, and not just because he knows that would hurt Dokuro. It’s also because Takeshi _knows_ Rokudo has the capacity to care for and about others. Takeshi has seen as much with his own eyes. Rokudo is the only reason they know as much as they do about Tsuna’s possible future, and Takeshi won’t soon forget that.

“He’s definitely protective of you,” Takeshi comments, because it’s the safest thing to say in that moment. “I feel bad for whoever’s telling him and the others what happened to us.”

Dokuro’s lips twitch like she wants to smile but just can’t muster the energy. “I feel worse for whoever’s told Sasagawa-senpai. He gets scary when things like this happen.”

Takeshi takes her word for it. He’s always been apart from the group during moments like these, so he has a vague idea of how Sasagawa would react, although he can’t conjure a solid mental image. Instead, he thinks about that day in the school dojo, about the expression on Sasagawa’s face when Takeshi said he would take up the position of hitman.

“Senpai,” Dokuro says. “I know you haven’t really wanted to talk lately, but – ”

“You can ask me anything,” Takeshi interrupts gently. He trusts her not to ask about the things he doesn’t want to get into. “Really, I promise I won’t get mad or anything.”

“I’ve never really seen you mad about anything that doesn’t have to do with Sawada-sama,” Dokuro replies almost cheekily, and Takeshi chokes back a startled laugh. “I just… are you doing okay? I’ve felt that things have been weird for a while, but I’d rather just know about how you are than whatever it is that’s been bothering you.”

Takeshi takes a moment to consider his response. He wants to address his behavior when everyone is together, but there’s no telling when that will be. He doesn’t want Dokuro to keep worrying in the meantime, so he says, “I’m doing better. There were some… things I had to deal with on my own, but I think I’m mostly over it now. I didn’t mean to be so standoffish or worry you guys.”

Dokuro shakes her head fiercely, eye wide. “It’s okay! I’m not asking to make you feel guilty or anything. I’ve just been wondering. You’ve always been there, and suddenly you just weren’t, you know? We knew something was wrong but didn’t know how to ask.”

Takeshi smiles ruefully, waiting for that familiar flash of anger and self-hatred to flare within him, but all he feels is numb. He can’t tell if it’s because he’s too tired for guilt or if this whole thing with Tsuna has taken more from him than he realized. “I never had friends until you guys,” Takeshi says. “No one really noticed before if I was upset or distancing myself, so I’m kind of happy to hear you say that. Is that weird?”

“No,” Dokuro says after a long moment. “It’s not weird. I feel the same way.”

A knock sounds on the door before Takeshi can answer, and they both turn, shooting one another confused glances when nothing else happens. “Come in?” Dokuro calls hesitantly.

The door opens just enough for Sasagawa to pop his head in. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks when he sees their faces. “Is it strange to wait for a response before barging into a room?”

“I’ve never once seen you knock,” Takeshi replies. “So, yeah, it’s a little weird.”

Sasagawa scowls before coming into the room. He’s dressed in jeans and a red, long-sleeved t-shirt rolled up to his elbows. Takeshi takes a moment to appreciate how _big_ his arms are before turning back around in his chair. “I’ve learned patience in my old age,” Sasagawa says, dropping a hand down atop Takeshi’s head and ruffling his hair in a way that’s only slightly rough. “I just came to check on you _kiddos._ Especially you, Takeshi, we haven’t heard a peep from you in hours.”

“I said I wasn’t moving.”

“And we believed you, trust me.” Takeshi reaches up to fix his hair while Sasagawa moves to stand in between their chairs. He crosses his arms over his chest and gazes down at Tsuna, Lambo, and I-Pin, expression pleasant but mostly unreadable. “It’s so weird seeing him like this,” he says conversationally. “I know it’s only been a year, but it feels like much longer.”

Takeshi and Dokuro exchange a brief glance before looking away again. Hibari made his feelings about Tsuna’s death perfectly clear – to Takeshi and Gokudera, anyway – but Sasagawa has been much harder to pin down. He doesn’t keep his distance from Tsuna the way Hibari does, but so far, Sasagawa has acted remarkably normal considering the circumstances.

Takeshi doesn’t know what he’d do if he saw a past version of Tsuna only a year after having lost him, but he knows he wouldn’t appear as put together as Sasagawa.

“So, what do you guys think of all this?” Sasagawa asks. “We got yanked into the future a few times ourselves, but… well, it seems like something is different between our timelines now. I don’t remember this ever happening to you when we were in high school.”

“It’s a lot,” Dokuro says before Takeshi can. “We’ve been trying so hard to think of ways to save Sawada-sama, and it’s really disheartening to see that we haven’t figured out how yet.”

Takeshi doesn’t know how much Gokudera and Hibari have been telling the others about their plans, though it makes him feel better to have more minds working on their shared problem.

“I wish I could help,” Sasagawa says, voice quieter than it’s probably ever been. And this may not be Takeshi’s Sasagawa Ryouhei, not really, but he still feels his pain like it’s his own. “Obviously we… weren’t enough. I can’t really tell you about it, but you’ve seen how Kyouya is. The others aren’t much better. Everything’s just a mess these days.”

Sasagawa must have mulled things over countless times in the months since Tsuna died. He must have thought about everything they did and didn’t do, every mistake they made that led to Tsuna being gunned down. Takeshi wants to ask what Sasagawa would do differently if he could go back, but he knows better than that. It wouldn’t be fair.

“But I think you guys can figure it out,” Sasagawa continues, taking Takeshi and Dokuro both by the shoulder and squeezing. “You have a chance we didn’t, and I know how smart you are. Your future won’t be like ours.”

“How can you be so sure?” Takeshi blurts out. “This is the second time I’ve been to a future like this. And… ” _And I don’t know if I can take it anymore._

“It’s just a feeling I have,” Sasagawa replies. “I can’t tell you why, but now that Kyouya's pushed Tsuna like this… I don’t know. Things will be different. Your Tsuna is stronger now for having come here. Just trust me on that.”

“Sawada-sama has always been strong,” says Dokuro, sounding vaguely stubborn. “Stronger than anyone.”

Sasagawa laughs, tossing his head back and finally releasing their shoulders. “Well, duh, but it’ll be different now. You’ll see.”

Takeshi glances at Tsuna’s face again, wondering what could have possibly happened inside Hibari’s Box Weapon to trigger a potentially future-altering transformation. Tsuna doesn’t look any different, although now that Takeshi is thinking about it, there had been… _something_ different about Tsuna when he emerged.

Tsuna had called Takeshi “my Rain” with such a strange look on his face. And his stare had always been intense, but Tsuna had never looked at Takeshi like that before; not with that much fire.

“Don’t worry,” Sasagawa says, dropping a hand down atop Dokuro’s head, and when Takeshi spares a glance, he realizes with a start that she’s begun to cry. She’s staring at Tsuna’s face just like Takeshi had been, lips trembling and eye unfocused. “Kyouya will make sure you guys get home.”

Takeshi is a little confused, isn’t sure how Hibari can fix this, but Dokuro just nods, pressing her lips together briefly before saying, “I trust you. I trust Hibari-senpai.”

Sasagawa smiles, dark eyes flicking over to meet Takeshi’s wide-eyed stare. “Don’t worry,” Sasagawa says again, quieter than before. “Everything will be okay.”

And it’s hard, considering everything that’s happened, but… Takeshi finds himself believing that.

* * *

Takeshi doesn’t remember falling asleep, but he startles awake in a mostly dark room. There’s a spot of warmth within himself, right at the core of him, that twists and turns and _burns_. It doesn’t make sense, but Takeshi recognizes it as his Flame, which had sat dormant and purposeless for most of the day.

But not anymore. It’s practically _screaming_ at him.

Takeshi sits rod-straight in his chair. The second chair where Dokuro had been sits empty, but Takeshi barely pays it any attention as he focuses on Tsuna’s form in the bed. There’s enough light for him to see that Tsuna isn’t asleep anymore.

He’s wide awake, in fact, eyes big and bright. And he’s staring at Takeshi.

“ _Tsuna_.” Takeshi hadn’t yelled, but he may as well have, for all the force his voice has behind it. Tsuna doesn’t blink, doesn’t flinch. Just watches. “You’re awake.”

“Yeah,” Tsuna says quietly. His eyes roam over Takeshi’s face briefly before a small smile tugs at his lips. “I’m here.”

Takeshi’s entire body is alight with nerves. He twitches in the chair, wanting to do something but unsure of _what._ “You were out for a while,” Takeshi says, trying to sound normal even as his voice shakes. “Reborn said you probably wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow.”

Tsuna’s smile grows, and Takeshi forces himself to maintain eye contact. “It is tomorrow,” he replies. “It’s six in the morning, Takeshi.”

Takeshi doesn’t even spare a glance at the clock on the wall. “Is it?”

“Were you here this whole time?”

“Yeah.” It won’t do any good to lie. “I couldn’t leave.”

“I heard you,” Tsuna says, softly, like it’s some sort of secret. “You said you wouldn’t move until I got out.”

Takeshi jolts at the reminder of the previous day, what he’d said to Gokudera when the other boy was yelling at him for standing down against Hibari. “You heard all that?”

Tsuna nods against the pillow. Lambo and I-Pin are still asleep at his sides, but Lambo is starting to stir, his expression twitching. “Everything,” says Tsuna. “Especially at the end. That’s why I got out, I think.”

Takeshi frowns, though his attention is divided when he thinks he hears movement from out in the corridor. “But I didn’t… ”

“I know,” Tsuna assures him. “I still heard you though.”

“Tsuna-nii?” Lambo mumbles before Takeshi can even think of a response. 

“Boss!” The door slams open behind Takeshi, but he doesn’t turn to look, still transfixed by Tsuna’s persisting smile, even as Lambo wakes up and starts crying in his face. “You’re awake!”

"Hey, Hayato, Chrome,” Tsuna says as he pushes himself up. He gathers Lambo in one arm and I-Pin in the other, who jerked awake when Lambo started crying. “I didn’t want to wake you guys.”

Gokudera appears in Takeshi’s peripheral, dressed in a t-shirt and boxers. His hair’s an absolute mess, and it’s the first time Takeshi’s seen his friend look less than put together. “You _absolutely_ should have woken us!” he exclaims, sounding mildly offended.

“How are you feeling, Sawada-sama?” Dokuro asks, leaning over Takeshi’s shoulder. She’s dressed in the same clothes she’d been wearing yesterday, and Takeshi wonders if she’s slept at all. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Tsuna shakes his head. He does seem exhausted when Takeshi takes a closer look, but it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before in the months since Tsuna accepted his nomination as the Tenth. But more than anything, Tsuna just seems happy. “I could sleep for another week, but I’m fine,” he assures them. “It’s okay, Lambo, you really don’t have to cry.”

“You scared me!” Lambo wails. “You’re so _mean_ , Tsuna-nii, I’m telling Nana!”

“Noisy,” I-Pin mumbles into Tsuna’s neck, still half asleep.

“What happened, Boss?” Gokudera asks, obviously restless, although Takeshi can’t fault him for it. “Hibari and Sasagawa made it seem like being in that Box Weapon was going to help you, but none of that makes any sense to us.”

Tsuna’s brow furrows as he thinks, readjusting his grip on the kids. “I think it did help. Or it will,” Tsuna explains. “It’s… hard to put into words right now. I want to tell you, but I'd like to wait until we’re all together.” Tsuna hesitates then, eyes flickering briefly to Takeshi before he looks away again. “I need to talk to everyone about some things. It’s not bad, just… ”

“We’ll wait, then,” Dokuro says easily, and Takeshi nods along. “Once we’re back home, you can explain everything to us. We’re just glad you’re okay, Sa – Tsuna.”

Tsuna blinks, the apprehensive look on his face fading away as he glances at Dokuro in surprise. Takeshi can’t see her face, but she seems to hold her ground beyond his shoulder, if the small, shy smile on Tsuna’s face is anything to go by.

“Okay, Chrome,” Tsuna says, and Takeshi takes a moment to just listen. It hasn’t been long at all, but any amount of time without hearing Tsuna’s voice, feeling his presence, is entirely too much. “Once we’re back, I promise I'll tell you everything.”


	16. Chapter 16

If anyone expects Tsuna to take it easy after what happened, they’re quickly proven wrong. The same day he wakes up, Tsuna seeks out Lal and Hibari with Chrome at his side, forbidding Takeshi and Gokudera from tagging along. “You have your own things to work on,” he tells them firmly. “Don’t worry about me for now.”

It’s an impossible request, but Gokudera skulks off to find Bianchi while Takeshi returns to the dojo with Reborn. For the next few days, they see very little of each other outside of mealtimes. Tsuna is focused in a way he’s never been before, and it rubs off on Takeshi a little.

Reborn doesn’t change into his “true” form again, nor does he offer more information regarding himself. Instead, he teaches Takeshi about Flames and the differences between using them for offense and defense. “I’m sure Colonnello was close to going over this with you,” the hitman explains. “Or maybe he didn’t think it was necessary since you’re such a natural.”

The reminder of Takeshi’s mentor leaves him feeling unsettled. He doesn’t want to think that Colonnello went behind Reborn’s back and helped send them here, but Takeshi knows what he heard the night he arrived in the future. He isn’t looking forward to the impending confrontation, though he knows it’s inevitable.

In truth, a lot of what Reborn tells him goes over Takeshi’s head. He gets that Soft Flame techniques – like Tranquility – are typically defensive, though practiced Flame users can work them into attacks. Hard Flame techniques are better suited for offense since they pack more of a punch, and Takeshi recognizes how he’d already been using Hard Flames when using the Shigure Soen Ryu style.

The distinctions are easy enough to grasp, though Reborn says that Takeshi’s fighting style muddles the waters a little, since Takeshi naturally intertwines the different types of Rain Flame. The instruction itself is pretty useful, though Takeshi doubts he’ll be keeping it in mind going forward. That’s way too much to think about when all he needs to keep in mind are his opponent’s movements and the weight of Shigure Kintoki in his own hand.

He says as much to Reborn after another few days of lessons, and Reborn rolls his eyes but ultimately agrees. “You kids and your instincts,” he says. “Makes it really hard to drill anything into your heads.”

Reborn lets him go, and on a Wednesday night, nearly a week and a half after they arrived in the future, Takeshi sits alone in the kitchen, hunched over a bowl of mixed fruit that Kyouko and Haru had made with the kids earlier in the day.

It reminds him of his quiet afternoon with Nana. It hadn’t happened all that long ago, but it feels like an eon to Takeshi. He munches on a piece of an apple and allows himself to miss her in the same way Tsuna must. She has a way of making even the worst-case scenario sound manageable, and Takeshi wishes her future self were here, although it’s probably for the best that she isn’t.

Takeshi is lost in his own head, tired and weary after so long spent underground, but he still hears the approaching footsteps in enough time to sit up straight and make himself look less miserable.

He’d been expecting Sasagawa or maybe Gokudera, so it’s a surprise to Takeshi when Hibari steps into the room, wearing a white button down with black slacks and loafers. When their eyes meet, Takeshi thinks Hibari will spin around and stalk away like he usually does. If he’s not training Tsuna, then Hibari is locked inside his compound, and none of them had expected that to change for the rest of their time here.

But Hibari only sets his mouth in a thin line before approaching Takeshi, coming to stand at the island opposite him. “Hey.”

Takeshi takes a moment to chew warily before saying, “Hello.”

Hibari quirks an eyebrow. “You’re not still mad about the other day, are you?”

Shaking his head, Takeshi says, “I was never mad. Not like Hayato. I just don’t know why you’re talking to me.”

Hibari is quiet, and Takeshi takes the moment to pop a pear into his mouth, though he almost chokes when the older man says, “I still consider you a friend, even if you are a baby now.”

“’m not a baby,” Takeshi says roughly. “But thanks, I guess? I didn’t think you liked any of us all that much.”

He feels slightly guilty for the way his words make Hibari’s lips twitch into a frown. “That was my fault,” he sighs, crossing his arms and leaning forward on the island’s smooth, stainless steel surface. “Everyone spent a lot of time saying pointless shit back then, myself included. We all regret not being honest when we had the chance.” The look Hibari shoots him is just the wrong side of too purposeful, so Takeshi looks away. But Hibari isn’t Dokuro, so the man keeps pushing. “I’m assuming you haven’t told Tsuna yet?”

“No,” Takeshi replies, but only after he’s considered playing dumb and figured that Hibari wouldn’t appreciate it. “He’s in love with Kyouko.”

Hibari opens his mouth as if to say something, but he closes it again without a word. A look of vague irritation crosses his face before he finally says, “Have you even asked him?”

“If he’s in love with Kyouko?” Takeshi shrugs. “I don’t have to. But we don’t talk about that kind of stuff anyway.”

“I’m shocked,” Hibari drawls, reaching over to pluck a grape from the bowl. “You really think you have no chance?”

Takeshi feels a little irritated himself. It’s not about chances. It’s about Tsuna’s future, and Takeshi already knows his place in it, even if the others just want to keep _pushing._ “I mean, I don’t plan on saying anything, if that’s what you mean,” Takeshi replies after a moment. “I’m fine with being his best friend.”

Hibari sighs. “I know you are. That’s the most infuriating part.”

“How’s training going?” Takeshi asks, done with the conversation. “Tsuna and Chrome haven’t been saying much.”

“I think you all have the skills you need to improve on your own at this point,” Hibari says, and he glances over at the clock above the fridge. “There’s not much else we can do for you.”

“So, now what? We just sit here and wait for something to happen?”

Hibari shakes his head, reaching up to push his bangs out of his eyes. Something about the action seems restless to Takeshi, although he doesn’t know why. “You’ll be home soon.”

Takeshi frowns. “Oh, yeah? How do you know?”

When their eyes meet, Takeshi is thrown by how conflicted Hibari appears. As calm as he’d been before, something is now bothering him. “We have allies,” Hibari says slowly. “ _Had_ allies, even back then, even if we didn’t know it. I still keep in contact. They had something to do with your being here.”

“Allies,” Takeshi repeats, mulling it over further when Hibari stays quiet. It’s vague enough that Takeshi knows Hibari isn’t even supposed to be talking about it. For some reason, he’s chosen to take the risk, or abandon his pride, in the hopes that Takeshi will understand. But why now? Why not the first night they’d spoken? “That’s good to know.”

Hibari nods, casting his eyes downward for a brief moment. “I want to tell you more,” he says, almost wistfully. “I think I would’ve liked to tell you all the things I couldn’t when we were younger.”

“I don’t think my Hibari is gonna like you telling me that.”

“That’s just too bad,” Hibari replies mildly, drawing a laugh from Takeshi. “He could use a kick in the ass.”

“Well, I’m not volunteering,” Takeshi says with another small laugh. “I’ll leave that to Ryouhei.”

“Hey,” Hibari says, tone sharp, and when Takeshi looks to him in surprise, he sees Hibari watching the clock again. “When you get back, I want you to tell my younger self something.”

“Oh, okay.” Takeshi tips his head, confused. “You sure it should be me? Not Tsuna?”

Hibari shakes his head, and for a split second, he looks exactly like the sixteen-year-old boy Takeshi knows: intense and unafraid. “Tell him he won’t regret it,” Hibari says, and Takeshi, inexplicably, feels light-headed. “Tell him that there’s nothing on this _earth_ that could make him regret taking a chance.”

Takeshi is at a loss for words for a long moment. “Nothing?” he eventually asks. “There’s… nothing.”

Again, Hibari shakes his head. His eyes, dark and narrowed, are misting over, but when he catches Takeshi staring, all Hibari does is smile. It’s barely a smile at all, small and private, something Takeshi doesn’t think he should be seeing. “Nothing.”

The vertigo hits Takeshi before he can do something stupid like attempt to hug Hibari. He lifts a hand to clutch at his shirt, and Hibari’s face swims before him. But for the first time, Takeshi kind of wants to stay. He doesn’t want to leave Hibari like this, but maybe Hibari is better left to the other Takeshi, the one who understands how it feels to lose everything that Tsuna has come to mean to them.

Hibari’s eyes are the last thing Takeshi sees.

* * *

Takeshi blinks down at a picture of his mother.

He recognizes her by her smile – big and slightly mischievous – but she looks much younger than she does in the other photos Takeshi has ever seen of her. She looks like she’s in middle school, black skirt fluttering around her calves as she flashes a V sign at the camera.

She kind of looks like Takeshi if he’d been born a girl, or if he’d grown up happily.

“Takeshi!” He looks up and meets the stunned eyes of his father. He’s standing behind the downstairs bar while Takeshi is sitting on a stool across from him. The picture of his mother stares up at him from a scrapbook Takeshi recognizes but has never had the courage to open. “Oh, my god, you’re back.”

His father lunges over the bar to yank Takeshi into an awkward and slightly uncomfortable hug, although Takeshi is too befuddled to reciprocate. “I’m home,” he says, voice muffled in his father’s shoulder. “Were you hanging out with the other me?”

“He kept me sane while you were gone, said you’d be protected,” his father explains as he pulls away. “Sorry, I – He wanted to see your mom’s scrapbook.”

Takeshi shakes his head when Tsuyoshi reaches forward to close the book, pulling it closer to himself. “No, it’s – it’s fine,” he says, dipping his head to look at the picture again. “I’ve never seen this photo before. She kinda looks like me.”

If his father says anything in response, Takeshi doesn’t hear it. He’s immediately distracted by a voice in his head, so startingly different from Takeshi’s own inner monologue that he almost screams, even if he recognizes who it belongs to.

_“I see that you’re back. Stay right where you are, Yamamoto, don’t you dare run off to Sawada’s.”_

“Rokudo?” Takeshi says out loud, and Tsuyoshi blinks over at him in confusion. “What – How are you in my head?”

_“Your defenses are startlingly low. You weren’t answering your phone, and the others were being annoying about it. This was faster. Now, stay where you are, we’re coming over.”_

“Um, my friends are coming?” Takeshi says, feeling as bewildered as his father looks. “I don’t know why.”

“They’ve been really worried,” Tsuyoshi tells him. “Sasagawa-kun and Hibari-kun showed up here that night you disappeared looking like ghosts. You… well, the _older_ Takeshi calmed them down, but they’ve looked rough ever since you all went to the future. That other boy, too.”

“… Rokudo?” Takeshi says cautiously, stunned when his father nods. “Wait, Rokudo’s _here?_ In Japan?”

 _“I did say_ we _were coming, didn’t I?”_

“I thought you weren’t supposed to leave Italy!”

_"Circumstances made that impossible.”_

Holy shit. Takeshi doesn’t understand the intricacies of Rokudo’s release from Vindice Prison, but Tsuna had to really throw his weight around to make it happen. If they came back to their time only to stumble into an international incident, Takeshi might actually lose his mind.

Takeshi closes the scrapbook and slides it across the bar toward his father. “I want to look at it again later,” Takeshi tells him. “After my friends leave.”

Tsuyoshi smiles. “Of course.”

Takeshi sits alone in TakeSushi for a little over ten minutes before he feels a flare of heat in his chest. He turns to the door before it opens, smile already in place as Tsuna bursts in. He’s panting, and Gokudera looks just as disheveled as he tumbles in after him. “Sorry for the intrusion!” they both shout, and Takeshi laughs.

“It’s just me,” Takeshi says. He watches as his friends file in, Sasagawa and Hibari coming in behind Tsuna and Gokudera after they’ve finished catching their breath in the doorway. Dokuro appears over Hibari’s shoulder, holding Lambo in her arms, and Rokudo brings up the rear. It’s the first time Takeshi has seen the boy in person, though all Takeshi can really think is that Rokudo and Dokuro really do look similar when they’re standing side by side like that. “My dad went upstairs so we could talk.”

Before anyone can respond, Sasagawa steps forward, expression tight as he approaches Takeshi and yanks him into a hug. Takeshi barely manages to avoid slipping off the bar stool, throat tight as he returns the desperate embarrass. “Sorry,” Sasagawa says roughly, even though it’s unnecessary. “I was really worried about you guys. About went out of my mind.”

“It’s okay,” Takeshi assures him, smiling when Sasagawa pulls away and their eyes meet. “And we were fine. The older you took care of us.”

Sasagawa cracks a returning smile, but it seems weak. He looks haggard, dark smudges staining his under eyes in a way Takeshi’s never seen before. “That’s what Chrome said. Well, the _older_ Chrome. She said you guys would be fine with Hibari and me looking after you.”

“We spent a lot of time with your future selves while you were gone,” Hibari says, hopping up onto the bar stool beside Takeshi. “Although they rarely told us anything helpful.”

“Yamamoto aside,” Rokudo adds, sounding bored. “He never step foot outside this building.”

“Is it okay that he’s here?” Takeshi blurts out, looking to Tsuna. “We’re not gonna have half the Italian mafia world on our doorsteps soon, are we?”

Hibari waves a hand dismissively. “I dealt with it. A little _warning_ would’ve been nice, though.” He glares at Rokudo through his bangs as he says it, and Rokudo only smirks before turning away to slide into a booth. Dokuro meets Takeshi’s eye and smiles briefly before following suit.

“No one was answering their phones,” says Rokudo. “What was I supposed to do, have a cup of coffee and wait for a text? Please.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Mukuro,” Tsuna says. He and Gokudera slide into the booth opposite Rokudo, Dokuro, and Lambo, and Sasagawa sits in the stool on Takeshi’s other side. “Sorry I didn’t really say hi to you properly before I… ran out like that.”

Rokudo rests his chin in the palm of his hand and regards Tsuna coolly, a hint of something like mischief in his eyes. “Don’t worry, I expected it,” he says, and Tsuna scowls, the bridge of his nose going slightly red. “You’ve become very predictable in some ways, Tenth.”

Takeshi watches the exchange with something like amazement. He’s gotten used to Rokudo’s attitude through his messages, but the real person is a little more… playful than Takeshi had expected. He wouldn’t be surprised if that persona extends only to Dokuro and Tsuna, though only time will tell.

“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you all together,” Tsuna says, glancing over at Takeshi, who gives him an encouraging nod. “A lot happened while we were gone.”

“We have things to tell you as well,” Hibari replies, “but that can wait.”

After a pointed glance from Tsuna, Gokudera starts filling the others in on their time spent in the future. He tells them about Reborn, Lal Mirch, and inevitably comes around to the one thing Takeshi imagines he’d wanted to avoid: Tsuna’s fate.

The others let out small, nearly inaudible breaths when Gokudera quietly asserts that Tsuna hadn’t been alive in the future they visited. Takeshi sees Sasagawa’s hands ball into fists atop his thighs, and Rokudo’s face is unreadable, a stoic mask. Lambo, who’s been quiet the whole time, burrows further into Dokuro, and Takeshi wishes they could take a breather from all this; for Lambo’s sake, if nothing else.

“Did you figure out anything that could help us?” Hibari asks after a long moment of silence. “Did Sasagawa or I say anything?”

Takeshi shakes his head. “Not really,” he says, though his mind wanders to that last conversation with Future Hibari. He isn’t sure if he should bring it up just yet, not when everyone is here. “We tried, but… we didn’t want to upset them.”

“We expected that, though,” Rokudo says, staring over at Hibari. “We can plan around it.”

Hibari sighs, sounding so exhausted that the others glance over in varying levels of concern. Takeshi half expects Hibari to go stiff, re-erect his walls, but the older boy only runs a hand through his hair, breathing out again through his nose. “We can plan around it,” he echoes. Firmly, as if trying to convince himself. “This is just another minor setback.”

“Hibari… ” Tsuna murmurs, sounding vaguely lost.

“Boss,” Gokudera says pointedly, redirecting Tsuna’s attention. “Tell them about what happened with your training. You said you would once we were all together, right?”

“Okay. Well… I was training with Future Hibari,” Tsuna begins, looking to Sasagawa, Hibari, and Rokudo in turn, “and he trapped me inside of this thing called a Box Weapon. I had to figure a way out on my own before I ran out of oxygen.”

Gokudera shifts his weight in the booth, clearly uncomfortable at the reminder even if he’d been the one to steer toward the topic, while Takeshi and Dokuro remain still. “Sounds kinda extreme,” Sasagawa says, glancing at Hibari, who rolls his eyes. “What, are you saying you’d never do something like that?”

Hibari shrugs. “I can’t guess what my future self was thinking.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” Tsuna says placatingly. “Whatever he wanted to show me, it worked, I think. I managed to unlock a new mode for my X-Gloves, and when I was in there, I… well, I realized some things. About myself, and about you all.”

“Us?” Dokuro questions. “What about us?”

For a moment, Tsuna seems… resistant. “I saw the past Vongola bosses,” he admits quietly. “It was almost like they were really there with me. I couldn’t speak to them, but I got… impressions. About what their lives were like. Their personal regrets.

“I know I’ve never really said so,” Tsuna continues, and if his voice drops lower, becomes less stable, none of them mentions it, “but you guys are everything to me. I didn’t have friends growing up, so I just… I couldn’t tell if what I felt for you all was normal, if I was wrong for thinking of you how I did. How I do.”

“Tsuna,” Takeshi says, unsure of where this is going but inexplicably terrified, nonetheless. “You’re – ”

“No,” Tsuna says fiercely, locking eyes with Takeshi. “I have to say this. You guys need to know that I’m only here because of you. I only agreed to become the Tenth because I wanted to be someone worthy of your loyalty. You agreed to become my Guardians way before I ever deserved it, and I still don’t know why, but I’m done wondering about it. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Most days, Tsuna says so much without saying much at all. He conveys his feelings more so through his actions, so to stand here and listen to Tsuna practically spill his guts to them is more than Takeshi was prepared to handle. “When I saw the other Vongola Bosses,” Tsuna says, “I realized that they all felt the same about their Guardians. They loved them just as much as I love you guys. They were bound together by something more than friendship, but that didn’t stop things from going wrong.”

Tsuna stops, squeezes his eyes shut, and Sasagawa takes half a step forward beside Takeshi before falling still, as if thinking better of whatever he’d been about to do. “What do you mean?” Sasagawa asks quietly.

“Each Vongola boss has been betrayed by a Guardian,” Tsuna admits in a rush. The seven of them take this revelation in silence; even Lambo, curled in Dokuro’s arms, just stares at Tsuna in wide-eyed confusion. “Every single one, all the way back to the Primo. And once a Guardian broke the bond, there was never any replacing them. You can’t replicate something like that more than once.”

“We would never betray you,” Gokudera spits. “How could you even – _consider – ”_

“It makes sense,” Rokudo comments, ignoring the furious looks Gokudera and Sasagawa shoot his way. “The Vongola Guardians are expected to give their very lives for the Boss. I think it would be impossible to not have at least one person in each generation crumble under the strain.”

Tsuna actually smiles at that. “That’s the one trial of a Vongola boss that never really ends,” he explains. “Keeping their Guardians’ loyalty. And the thing is, I don’t blame those Guardians for leaving, or switching sides, or regretting becoming involved with the Vongola. I’ve seen what my influence does to you all. I’ve seen what you’d do for me, and what you could become without me. There’s no way I would blame any one of you if you decided to just – ”

“ _Don’t_.” Surprisingly, it’s Hibari who says it, sounding strangled. The Cloud Ring on his finger flashes dully, but it’s nothing compared to the violet inferno raging in his eyes. “Why are you saying this now?”

“I don’t want to ruin you,” Tsuna says beseechingly, eyes wide and helpless. “I’d honestly rather die.”

“You might,” Rokudo comments, but for how casual he’s been up until now, his voice sounds _furious._ “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing this whole time? Figuring out a way to keep you alive?”

“You have more reason than anyone to hate me,” Tsuna points out, almost matter-of-factly, like he’s resigned himself to it.

Rokudo nods. “I do, but I wouldn’t prefer it if you were gone.”

“What are you saying, Tsuna?” Dokuro asks, holding Lambo close. She seems scared, shifting as close to Rokudo as possible. She looks like a girl whose entire life is falling apart right before her eyes, and Takeshi can’t do anything to comfort her, because he feels the same way. “You’re not – _Please_ , don’t tell us to leave.”

Tsuna looks like he might burst into tears at the vulnerability in Dokuro’s tone, but he manages to hold himself together. “I should,” he says, “but I won’t. We’re too far into this to back out now. And I don’t think I want to, anyway. You’re all… you’re _mine_. I know I’ve said it before, but you all feel it, don’t you? It’s not just me?”

 _Yes,_ Takeshi thinks but doesn’t say. He feels it. No matter how far Takeshi walks, no matter where he is in time, he feels the pull of his bonds with Tsuna and the other six. His Dying Will is a lonely, possessive force, and it withers in Takeshi’s chest when he even considers an existence beyond the Vongola.

It wasn’t always like this, Takeshi knows. He became friends with the others of his own free will. He _chose_ to open himself up to them in a way he hadn’t since his mother died. There was nothing otherworldly about Takeshi’s desire to be close to them, but it’s taken on a different edge now after everything they’ve been through together.

Takeshi’s connection to the others has stopped being a matter of feelings and is now something deeply rooted in his very soul. Whether it’s caused by them just working well together or by their bonds as Vongola, Takeshi isn’t sure, but like Tsuna said: they’ve gone past the point of wondering.

Takeshi wasn’t always the Tenth Generation Rain Guardian. But he is now, and it’s rewired the way he looks at his friends, at Tsuna. Takeshi would be nothing without them.

At the very least, Takeshi, Gokudera, and Dokuro came to recognize the depth of their feelings for Tsuna and one another after their time spent in the future. It doesn’t scare Takeshi – not at all – but he is worried about what Tsuna intends to do by dragging it out into the open like this.

“I say that you’re mine,” Tsuna says quietly, drawing Takeshi from his thoughts, “but I’m yours, too. I’m nothing without you. I want to be better for you, so that I don’t become someone else you want to run from. And if I have to make sacrifices to make sure we stay together, then I’ll do it.”

Gokudera shudders, looking more shaken than Takeshi’s ever seen him. “What do you mean?”

“I know you’re all figuring out a way to kill Byakuran,” Tsuna says, “and I won’t try to stop you. All I ask is that you stop sneaking around behind my back. I’m not going to judge you for whatever you think you have to do. You’re doing it for _me,_ so that I can have a future with you guys. And that… _god,_ it means the world to me, you know? I never used to think it mattered if I lived or died. I didn’t think anyone would care if I just… disappeared.”

Takeshi feels like throwing up at the thought. He already knew Tsuna’s life before all this hadn’t been a great one, but it’s almost too much to hear about Tsuna contemplating his own existence like Takeshi used to do. Someone as beautiful and wonderful as Tsuna shouldn’t have stepped out into the world and felt invisible.

They should’ve found Tsuna sooner. _Takeshi_ should’ve found him sooner.

“So, I want you all to promise me,” Tsuna continues, eyes flickering orange, and Takeshi’s stomach _drops._ At the same time, a furious heat builds within him, an uncontrollable desire to do whatever Tsuna asks, give him anything he wants. Takeshi doesn’t need to look at the faces of the others to know that they feel it, too, but he does anyway, takes in how Rokudo's and Dokuro's eyes shine a light indigo, Lambo's crackling green. Hibari's eyes have been violet since his earlier outburst, and a quick glance proves Sasagawa's and Gokudera's to be shining yellow and red respectfully. He obviously can't see himself, but Takeshi imagines his own gaze conveys his Flame's burning desire. “We’ll kill Byakuran and save everyone’s futures, but we’ll do it as a team. And after this, no more messing with the future. No trying to change the past if younger versions of us come looking for answers. If I die, then I die. I don’t want you to be bound to me like that, not to the point that my not being here would affect you so badly.”

Takeshi wants to protest, but Tsuna shoots him a look of pure fire before he can, as if sensing Takeshi’s intentions. “Promise me,” he says again. “Promise that you’ll move on without me.”

It isn’t a matter of promising. It’s a demand they simply can’t fulfill, whether Tsuna knows it or not. They’ve gone past the point of going on with their lives if Tsuna were to die. Nothing awaits the seven Vongola Guardians without their leader.

But that’s the sacrifice they made, isn’t it? Reborn had told them that they needed to live and die for Tsuna, and by now, they’ve all come to terms with it in their own ways, have come up with their own definitions of living and dying.

By accepting their rings, Takeshi and the others have bound their fates to Tsuna’s. Lambo is the only one who couldn’t have possibly consented to it, but that’s the fault of all the adults who knew what being a Guardian meant before they did.

Takeshi doesn’t want to watch Lambo grow up in a world where he’s broken without knowing why. He doesn’t want Gokudera to lose the first person he’s ever truly trusted, or for Sasagawa to have to bury his pain just to shoulder everyone else’s. He doesn’t want to see Hibari avoid eye contact and hold himself apart from everyone. He doesn’t want Dokuro to lose the family she’s gained, or for Rokudo to be burdened by memories of a happier time.

Takeshi doesn’t want to lose the boy he loves.

And he’s not going to. He absolutely refuses.

“I promise, Boss,” Takeshi says, because it doesn’t matter. They’re not going to fail this time. “I swear that I’ll let you go if I have to.”

Gokudera swears in Italian under his breath before saying, “Me, too. I promise.”

The others follow suit, murmuring their compliance, and for a moment, Takeshi allows himself to think about what Future Hibari had said to him and Gokudera.

_Don’t you think I know how illogical this is? That we’re all bound by a promise we made when we were too young to know any better?_

_I won’t let this become a curse,_ Takeshi thinks. _I won’t let us regret it._

* * *

 **Tsuna:** I know I said this before

 **Tsuna:** but no more sneaking around behind my back

 **Tsuna:** we’re doing this as a team okay?

**Takeshi:** you got it

**Hayato:** We said we were sorry.

**Kyouya:** How were we supposed to know you were suddenly okay with murder?

**Tsuna:** you would be surprised at what I’m okay with these days

**Ryouhei:** (＊〇□〇）……！

 **Ryouhei:** what happened!!

 **Ryouhei:** how did my sweet baby bro end up like this?!

**Tsuna:** excuse me I am your boss and supreme mafia overlord

 **Tsuna:** and I wouldn’t exactly call myself sweet

**Ryouhei:** ??? you are tho

**Chrome:** the sweetest <3

**Ryouhei:** (￢‿￢ )

**Mukuro:** I’d much rather discuss our murder plot than whatever this is.

**Hayato:** Do you HAVE to say it like that?

**Kyouya:** You’re lucky our data is encrypted, or they’d throw you back into Vindice.

**Mukuro:** I’d honestly like to see them try at this point.

**Takeshi:** so this is what we’re doing now?

 **Takeshi:** planning murder over text?

**Tsuna:** seems like it

 **Tsuna:** I do have an idea actually

 **Tsuna:** but I don’t think you guys will like it

**Ryouhei:** cool love the confidence

**Hayato:** We’re all ears, Boss.

**Tsuna:** I think we should ask the Varia for help

 **Tsuna:** …. guys???

 **Tsuna:** (•_•)?

**Ryouhei:** um do we have visual on Takeshi

**Mukuro:** He’s just pacing around his room like an idiot.

**Takeshi:** STOP SPYING ON ME

**Hayato:** STOP FREAKING OUT THEN

**Tsuna:** why are we freaking out exactly?

**Takeshi:** asjfbjfbds Tsuna oh my god

 **Takeshi:** why would we ask them for help???

 **Takeshi:** they also want you and us dead

**Tsuna:** maybe they changed their minds

 **Tsuna:** it’s not like the sky ring will accept Xanxus anyway

**Takeshi:** I don’t really think they care????

**Chrome:** If Tsuna thinks it’s worth a shot, then we should at least try.

**Ryouhei:** agreed!! Tsuna has good instincts

 **Ryouhei:** we’ll just beat them up if they say no

**Mukuro:** Because that worked so well for you all last time.

**Kyouya:** Byakuran is a threat to them too, if he’s set on destroying the Vongola.

 **Kyouya:** Maybe we can come together over a common interest.

 **Kyouya:** Although I won’t be holding my breath.

**Tsuna:** great then it’s settled

**Takeshi:** o(〒﹏〒)o

**Tsuna:** you worry too much

 **Tsuna:** don’t you trust me?

**Takeshi:** of course I do!! that’s not what this is about!! it’s them I don’t trust

**Tsuna:** it’ll be fine

 **Tsuna:** we’re not like we were before we can take them

**Takeshi:** fine

 **Takeshi:** but I hate this

 **Takeshi:** just for the record

**Chrome:** **/** records

**Takeshi:** et tu Chrome

**Chrome:** (✯◡✯)

Takeshi clutches his phone to his chest as it continues to vibrate with messages. Feeling overwhelmed yet not knowing exactly why, he tilts his head back and stares out the window, seeking out familiar constellations.

“I can’t lose this,” he says, and just hopes that the stars are listening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let's gooooo


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this may feel a little like an ending but it's not, trust me

The night of their meeting with the Varia, nearly three days after they returned from the future, Takeshi pulls Hibari aside. “What’s this about?” Hibari lets himself be led from the Sawada house, and he watches keenly as Takeshi shifts nervously on the porch, floorboards squeaking beneath his feet. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“Yes,” Takeshi says honestly, “but that’s not what this is about. Your future self wanted me to tell you something.”

Hibari blinks over at him, seemingly genuinely surprised. “Oh?”

“He said that – that nothing on earth could make you regret taking a chance,” Takeshi says, voice low, even though there’s no chance of the others hearing from inside. The words are as vague as Future Hibari himself had been, but the Hibari standing in front of Takeshi goes rigid as soon as he hears them.

As confused as Takeshi had been when he was asked to relay this message, he’d mostly understood what the intended purpose must’ve been. And he watches that purpose come to fruition as Hibari lets out a long breath and turns his face away, tilting his head back to look up at the night sky. “I’m in way over my head, aren’t I?” Hibari muses. “If throwing my lot in with Sawada makes me that sentimental in the future.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” Takeshi supplies quietly. “He was different, but he was still you. He still took care of us.”

Hibari’s jaw flexes, and his eyes are violet when he looks from the stars to Takeshi. “We’re going to kill Byakuran,” he says, voice so low and rough it’s nearly a snarl, and Takeshi doesn’t fear much these days, but he’s devastatingly relieved that Hibari is on their side. “And if the Varia won’t help, we’ll tear them apart.”

Takeshi’s answering grin promises everything and more.

* * *

“Whose idea was it to meet at the middle school?” Gokudera kicks at a stone at his feet, and it disintegrates into ash before it can hit the ground again. Lambo _ooh_ ’s over the display from his spot on Sasagawa’s shoulders, although his eyes are still drooping. It’s way past his bedtime, and they’d debated leaving him at home before opting against it. It’s probably a good thing they had Rokudo leave an illusion of the toddler back in the house, just in case Nana wakes up and decides to check on him. “The irony is ridiculous.”

“I’d feel a little better if Reborn were here,” Sasagawa says under his breath. “He’d thrash every single one of those Varia guys.”

“Reborn isn’t Vongola,” Tsuna says in reply, offering Sasagawa a reassuring smile when the older boy dips his head sheepishly. “I understand what you’re saying, but it wouldn’t be good to get him involved. This is Family business.”

The words send a shiver down Takeshi’s back, though the feeling isn’t an unpleasant one. As hesitant as he’d been to agree to this plan, he can’t deny the adrenaline rushes he gets when Tsuna acts like the mafia don he’s slotted to become. It’ll definitely be rough keeping his warring emotions in check when the Varia arrive and Tsuna starts negotiations, but at least it’ll be good practice for the future.

“Down, boy,” Rokudo murmurs to Takeshi’s left, and Takeshi pointedly ignores him.

They’re practically in the same location where the Battle for the Rings took place, near the second courtyard at the back of the main school building. Tsuna and Hibari were the ones who reached out to the Varia in order to set up this meeting, so Takeshi isn’t sure how exactly the time and location were decided on, though he has a suspicion Hibari was the one who asserted himself in that regard.

Takeshi hasn’t been here since they graduated, and he has a weird sense of nostalgic alienation. It’s barely been any time at all since they spent their days here, but Takeshi already feels like an entirely different person. This is the place where he used to play baseball, where he tried to take his own life, and Takeshi doesn’t know what to think about it.

“Are we sure they’ll come?” Dokuro wonders aloud as she twirls her trident idly in front of herself. Takeshi is glad she ultimately decided to come, having given her Mist Ring to Rokudo almost as soon as they came back from the future. He’d worried that Dokuro would step back as a Guardian now that Rokudo is physically present, but Tsuna’s gaze had been steely when he told them that the Tenth Vongola boss had seven Guardians, regardless of who was wearing the Rings. “What if it’s an ambush, and they bring more people?”

“I’ll feel it,” Tsuna assures her.

“And even if he doesn’t, I’ll know the second anyone else steps on the grounds,” says Hibari. His face is tilted up toward the sky, his hands in the pockets of his uniform slacks, and he evokes the image of calm. But Takeshi can practically feel Hibari’s Cloud Flames in the air around them, unoppressive but there all the same. “One foot out of place, and I’ll bite them to death.”

“Oh, god, I thought we’d given up on that,” Sasagawa groans. “I’ve never actually seen you bite someone, anyway. Lambo here is our resident biter.”

Lambo gives a little growl and bares his teeth, and Takeshi nearly bursts into laughter when he thinks about all the bite marks on Iemitsu’s arms on the night of their middle school graduation.

Tsuna shifts to glare at them over his shoulder. “No one’s biting anyone. We’re all gonna be on our best behavior tonight, right?”

Hibari shrugs. “Sure.”

“Use Tranquility on him if he so much as _moves_ toward Xanxus,” Gokudera hisses in Takeshi’s ear, though the mere suggestion has Takeshi feeling sick to his stomach.

“Why, so he can finally kill me? No, thanks.” 

“We _cannot_ start a Family war here. It won’t reflect well on the Boss’ leading capabilities.”

Takeshi trusts Hibari to have enough self-restraint in this situation. Personally, Takeshi thinks that if anyone is going to antagonize the Varia, it’s going to be him or Gokudera, but he keeps that to himself. “It’ll be fine,” Takeshi says instead. “Tsuna’s got this. He’ll convince Xanxus.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Tsuna grumbles in front of them, and Takeshi and Gokudera share a conspiratorial glance.

“Movement at the front gate,” Hibari says suddenly, and the mostly light-hearted, jovial air amongst them goes cold. “Six people.”

“Are they separating?” Sasagawa asks, raising his arms to lift Lambo off his shoulders and down into his arms. Part of Takeshi had hoped that Lambo would just sleep through the whole thing, but he seems more alert now, reacting to the abrupt change in their moods. “They aren’t trying to circle around and flank us?”

Hibari’s eyes narrow as he stares off into the dark. “No, they’re staying together. They aren’t moving very fast either.”

Gokudera huffs. “Of course they would take their fucking time. It’s not like we have school tomorrow.”

“They don’t know why they’re here, right?” Takeshi asks. “Maybe they’re just being cautious.”

“They know that the future of the Vongola is at stake,” Tsuna says darkly. “That’s probably the only reason Xanxus agreed to this.”

Takeshi has a hard time believing Xanxus cares about the organization that – in his mind – turned its back on him. He strikes Takeshi as the type to just let the Vongola burn now that Tsuna is to become the Tenth boss. Tsuna seems to think that this meeting will be worth it, however, so Takeshi will withhold judgment for now.

In the meantime, Shigure Kintoki is an all too solid weight on Takeshi’s shoulder.

“Stay alert,” Hibari says, voice nearly a growl, just as Takeshi detects movement in the darkness.

Despite their savage nature, Takeshi remembers the Varia having a flair for the dramatic. And that seems to continue as they materialize from the darkness, not in any _normal_ way, but as if the shadows are dematerializing around them. Takeshi senses Flame energy, something similar to Dokuro’s when she’s casting illusions, but neither Tsuna nor Hibari are reacting, so it can’t be anything malicious.

Hibari and Gokudera had drilled their names into Takeshi’s mind beforehand – he’d only ever really taken note of Xanxus and Squalo – and he observes each member in turn: Belphegor, Lussuria, Levi, and Mammon. Despite having not bothered to remember their names, Takeshi clearly recalls the tortures each of them inflicted on his friends.

Levi in particular catches Takeshi’s eye, and he’s _so_ tempted to repay him for having brutalized Lambo. It’s a difficult urge to ignore, especially when Lambo catches sight of the man and whimpers quietly from behind Takeshi. Sasagawa is quick to reassure him, whispering a, “Don’t worry, we won’t let him hurt you again,” that quiets Lambo’s distressed noises as soon as they’d started.

Trusting Sasagawa to take care of their youngest, Takeshi refocuses his attention on the approaching Varia. He’s still nervous about letting them this close to Tsuna, but he feels marginally better with both himself and Gokudera standing just behind each of Tsuna’s shoulders, hands folded behind their backs. It doesn’t help that Takeshi feels restricted in his school uniform – especially as opposed to the Varia, who are in common street clothes – but Gokudera had _insisted,_ and there was no discouraging him.

“You’ll have to get used to it,” Gokudera had said. “We can’t run around Italy looking like a bunch of unruly schoolchildren.”

When Xanxus comes to a stop, there’s maybe twenty meters of distance between him and Tsuna. Squalo is close behind him, but Takeshi notices that he doesn’t dare stand as close to him as Takeshi and Gokudera do to Tsuna. That tells Takeshi everything he needs to know about Xanxus’ dynamic with the people he leads. It’s one of the many things that set him and Tsuna apart.

“This better be good, Sawada.” Xanxus’ voice is as rough as always, his Japanese rough and accented. He looks mildly irritated that he’s even here, and again, Takeshi wonders how Tsuna managed to square this meeting. “I never wanted to step foot in this country again.”

Tsuna dips his head marginally but doesn’t bow. “I really appreciate that you came. I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us after the Battle for the Rings. We’re all part of the Vongola, and I’d like to work together.”

“This is already boring,” the Sun Flame user – _Lussuria_ – says. “I thought we were here for a rematch.”

“Nobody said that, you just assumed,” Mammon quips, hovering in the air between Levi and Lussuria. “Isn’t Reborn with you all?”

“He had business elsewhere,” Tsuna replies breezily. In truth, none of them have seen or heard from Reborn since they returned from the future. This isn’t the first time Reborn has gone missing, though it does strike Takeshi as odd considering everything that’s gone on recently. What could the hitman possibly be doing? “And this is a Vongola matter.”

“You’ve changed your tune,” Belphegor says, tipping his head in a manner that would appear curious if not for the slightly sadistic grin on his face. Takeshi feels another hot flash of anger as he remembers Gokudera’s desperate struggle against him, but he reigns it in, remembers to breathe. “What happened to your sniveling that you didn’t want to be the Tenth?”

Tsuna takes the jab in stride as he replies, “Things have changed since we last saw one another. I’m determined to lead the Vongola in the future.” 

Xanxus nearly scowls at the declaration. “Just get on with it, Sawada.”

“We’ve recently discovered a threat to the organization,” Tsuna says. “You’ve seen how my Lightning Guardian’s Ten-Year Bazooka works. A few of us have been to the future recently, and there’s a certain man who will subjugate the entire mafia world if he’s left alone.”

“And he won’t stop there,” Gokudera adds in the pointed quiet Tsuna cultivates. “His ultimate goal is world domination, and we’d like to deal with him soon before he becomes an even bigger threat.”

“So, you came crawling to us for help?” Belphegor asks, sounding absolutely delighted. “The Tenth-to-be needs _our help_?”

“Stop interrupting,” Levi rumbles, drawing attention to himself for the first time.

“Who is this guy?” Xanxus demands. “Is he really that terrifying to you that you’d call me over here?”

“His name is Byakuran. He’s the current head of the Gesso Family,” Tsuna says, and Takeshi wonders if Hibari is making some sort of face behind their backs. He’d explicitly told everyone not to divulge too much information to the Varia during their negotiations, explained that every piece of knowledge was an advantage or possible means of bargaining. But Tsuna is nothing if not fair, so Takeshi isn’t surprised that he’d taken his Guardian’s advice and decided not to follow it to the letter. “He’ll take over the world in the future if we leave him be, and I’d like to ask for your help in dealing with him.”

“And if I refuse?” asks Xanxus.

Takeshi feels the tension rising in the air. He can’t see Gokudera’s face, but he imagines how it must twitch with barely suppressed anger. The Varia guys are no better, eyes dark with defiance and malice as their leader stands opposed to the boy who defeated him for the Vongola Tenth position. Squalo in particular is becoming increasingly agitated, and Takeshi’s skin tingles at the dark look in the boy’s eyes. He has the same aura about him as he’d had during their fight: the air of a killer who would never show even an ounce of hesitation against an opponent.

Maybe Takeshi would feel the same way if Xanxus had won and he and his group were coming to _them_ for help. He imagines the rage and indignation he’d feel over the man who defeated his leader coming to ask for their aide.

Takeshi really does get it. The problem is, he just doesn’t care. The Varia are a means to an end, and if they won’t play the game, then…

“Then I kill you.”

Xanxus’ hateful stare shifts from Tsuna to Takeshi. “ _Hah_?”

“If you won’t help us, then you’re of no use to the Vongola,” Takeshi says, taking a step forward so he’s no longer hovering in Tsuna’s shadow. Squalo reacts instantaneously, mirroring Takeshi’s movements with a twisted grimace that almost mimics a snarl. “I’ll get rid of the Varia myself. You wouldn’t be the first people I’ve killed.”

Belphegor barks out a laugh. “Oh, yeah? I seem to remember you all winning the Battle for the Rings by _luck._ ”

Takeshi meets Squalo’s piercing gaze. “It wasn’t luck. There’s a reason you weren’t able to beat me back then, and you know it. My boss isn’t the only one who’s changed since then. Do you think you’d get to walk away this time?”

Squalo says nothing, and none of the other Varia look as if they find Takeshi’s words particularly funny; not even Belphegor, whose laughter has completely vanished. They stand still and silent behind Xanxus, but Takeshi can tell how each of their bodies is wired tight with tension.

More than Tsuna, more than Hibari or Gokudera or any of the others, they’re watching Takeshi.

“You wouldn’t,” Squalo says eventually. “If you need our help as badly as you say, your little boss wouldn’t let you kill us. What would be the point?”

“That’s fine,” Takeshi replies evenly. “And there doesn’t have to be a point. It’s my duty to protect him, even if it’s against his wishes. If the Varia won’t submit to the Tenth’s authority, then you’re easily his biggest threat after we’ve dealt with this. I’ll take care of you no matter what anyone has to say about it, and we’ll figure out another way to get rid of Byakuran.”

More silence greets Takeshi’s words, but he remains unmoved. Thanks to Reborn, Takeshi now understands what he has to do and how best to do it. Just as Takeshi doesn’t fear death, he isn’t afraid of the darkness in his heart, or even his lack of care for the people he’s killed so far.

Never mind the ugly and disgusting people in the world’s criminal underbelly. Takeshi will take care of them if they cross his path – he’ll probably feel good about it – but anyone who crosses or threatens Sawada Tsunayoshi _has_ to die.

That is Takeshi’s justice, and anyone else’s thoughts on the matter are irrelevant.

“If you claim you can handle this Byakuran on your own,” Mammon asks, “then why come to us in the first place?”

“Because it’s what I wanted,” Tsuna replies, voice as hard as stone. “My Guardians respect me enough to let me try it my way, but this is your last chance to prove your worth before our side of the Family assumes control. If I were you, I’d take it.”

It’s a final warning if Takeshi has ever heard one, and Xanxus seems to know it. He quirks a dark eyebrow, staring Tsuna down with an impassive look on his face. The moment seems to last forever, and just when Takeshi is starting to consider this a lost cause, Xanxus throws his head back and _laughs._

It’s practically a bellow, loud and echoing in the otherwise silent and empty courtyard. As bewildered as Takeshi feels, the Varia members surrounding Xanxus seem to deflate at the sound, the tension bleeding from their shoulders and expressions. Even Squalo steps back, although the resignation in his expression is at odds with the lingering bloodlust Takeshi senses.

“What the fuck happened to _you?_ ” Xanxus cackles. “If you’d been like this when we fought, maybe I wouldn’t have been so pissed off. I couldn’t believe the Sky Ring accepted such a little pussy like you, even if you did have the Primo’s blood.”

Tsuna remains unmoved, though Takeshi hears the insult and nearly shakes trying to keep himself from reaching for Shigure Kintoki.

 _“Easy,”_ Takeshi hears in his mind, barely a whisper underneath the roar of Xanxus’ continued laughter. _“Things are going well. You’ll ruin it.”_

Takeshi sets his jaw and keeps his eyes trained on the Varia.

"I know you’re just bullshitting me. You _do_ need my help,” Xanxus says to Tsuna once he’s collected himself again. He still seems mildly amused by the whole thing, but there’s something different in his eyes as he regards Tsuna now, something keen. “A large part of killing someone is the mindset. I can tell you’ve already decided he needs to go, but you still can’t do it on your own?”

After a contemplative moment, Tsuna nods once. “We don’t really know much about him,” Tsuna admits. “Not his past, his abilities, or what he’s capable of. We’ve just seen the future if he’s left alone, and it’s one where none of us can last. We need all the help we can get, Xanxus, and I really do want us to put our differences aside. For the sake of the Vongola.”

Xanxus scoffs. “Right. Well, whatever. You called us to Japan anyway, so we may as well have some fun while we’re here.”

“So, you’ll agree to help us?”

“What do you want in return?” Rokudo asks from beyond Takeshi’s shoulder. His voice is cold and detached, appraising. “Surely you won’t do this out of the goodness of your heart.”

“Fuck no,” Xanxus replies with a wicked grin. “You’ll just owe me a favor, Sawada. I’ll come to collect it some other day.”

“That’s fine,” Tsuna says easily, “so long as it doesn’t involve me handing over my position as head of the Vongola.”

That can’t possibly bode well, but it’s a better outcome than Takeshi had been expecting. Part of him expects something more, so it’s a bit of a shock to him when Xanxus turns on his heel and begins walking away, the others falling into step behind him. “I’m tired. We can talk about the fun stuff tomorrow. You know where to find me,” Xanxus calls over his shoulder, and Takeshi glances at the back of Tsuna’s head, but he doesn’t move or say another word as the Varia bleed back into the darkness.

Somehow, it’s over as quickly as it started. Takeshi can’t believe it was that easy, even with the obvious tension that still lingers between their groups. After a minute or so of baffled silence, Sasagawa is the first to speak. “That… worked?” He looks befuddled when Takeshi turns around, glancing back and forth between Tsuna and Hibari. “That worked. _That worked._ ”

“We get it,” Gokudera snaps, but there’s no bite in his voice. His face is pale in the dim lighting, and Takeshi can tell he’s just overwhelmed. “Of course it worked, the Boss said it would.”

“See, Lambo-chan?” Dokuro says, petting Lambo’s hair from where he’s still perched in the crook of Sasagawa’s arm. “Nothing bad happened. It was just a little meeting.”

Lambo nods, though he still maintains his death grip on Sasagawa’s dress shirt. “They were scared of us,” he crows, puffing out his chest.

Tsuna lets out a long, shaky breath from behind them, and Takeshi quickly turns back to him, eyes wide. “Tsuna?”

“I’m good.” Tsuna waves him off with a small smile, but he seems just as shaken as Gokudera. He reaches up to place a hand over his chest, and Takeshi can’t tell if he’s grasping for his Flame or his heart. “It’s just – God, I’m gonna have to get used to that, huh? Negotiating and all that?”

“You did well for your first time,” Hibari assures him. “Although I distinctly remember telling you not to play too many of our cards.”

Tsuna has the decency to appear chastised, though Takeshi can tell his regrets are minimal, if they exist at all. “I could tell I wasn’t going to get anywhere with him by being vague,” he replies. “I had to be confident, but I couldn’t pretend like we didn’t need their help either. You really scared me there, Takeshi. I kinda thought you’d set them off by threatening them like that.”

Now that the immediate danger has passed, Takeshi feels properly guilty. He’d reacted to Squalo’s bloodlust, forgetting in the moment that Tsuna, Gokudera, and Hibari were supposed to handle all the talking. “I’m sorry, Tsuna,” he says, averting his gaze to the ground. “I wasn’t – I didn’t think.”

Gokudera hip checks him, rolling his eyes. “You never do,” he snarks. “This just proves I should be the Boss’ right hand, don’t you think? At least I can keep my cool.” Rokudo barks out a laugh, and Gokudera whirls on him with a vicious scowl on his face. “You have something to say to me?”

“Not really,” Rokudo replies, even as Dokuro takes a half step toward Gokudera as if she wants to place herself between them before things can get out of hand. “I just don’t equate explosives with level-headedness.”

“That has nothing to do with it, asshole,” Gokudera huffs, but he backs off, turning back to Takeshi. “But really, what was that with the threats? ‘You wouldn’t be the first people I’ve killed.’ Even _I_ thought you were serious.”

Oh. Well. Takeshi hadn’t really wanted to tackle this issue just yet, but the others are watching him, and Takeshi doesn’t know how to play this off.

All he can do is try to keep his inner panic out of his expression as he says, “I _was_ serious. I’ve killed people before. And I think I could kill a couple of the Varia guys. Maybe not Xanxus, but… ”

He trails off as the slightly irritated look on Gokudera’s face bleeds into something more… distressed. “ _What?_ ” he demands. “Since when?”

“Since a few months ago,” Takeshi says with a shrug, feigning nonchalance. “I’ve been working with Reborn. He’s teaching me the ropes.”

“What the fuck?” Gokudera says faintly, and Takeshi can’t make sense of how genuinely upset the other boy looks. “How did I not know this? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Takeshi glances at the others, wishing he’d just kept his mouth shut. Dokuro seems nervous, though that’s generally how she is whenever Takeshi and Gokudera butt heads. Rokudo and Hibari aren’t really reacting, and Sasagawa seems melancholic as he averts his gaze from Takeshi’s, shifting Lambo in his arms.

Takeshi doesn’t let himself look at Tsuna.

“I don’t know, Hayato. I didn’t tell anyone, it wasn’t just you.”

“You were running around killing people and just didn’t think it was important to mention?” Gokudera snaps, steamrolling ahead even as Takeshi flinches. “What’s wrong with you? What if you’d been caught?”

“Reborn and Dino were – ”

“ _Dino-san_ knew, too?”

“Hayato,” Tsuna says suddenly. “I know you’re upset, but yelling at him won’t fix anything. Takeshi had his reasons for not telling us.”

Gokudera actually rounds on Tsuna, eyes flashing bright red as he says, “Did you know, Boss? Is this why you were having us give Takeshi space?”

The words would surprise Takeshi more if he weren’t feeling so distraught. He doesn’t understand why Gokudera is reacting this way. He grew up within the mafia and has probably seen death more than Takeshi has. So, why is it so terrible that Takeshi has stepped into that world?

It’s Takeshi’s worst fear coming to fruition. How had this night taken such a turn so soon after it seemed like things were going their way?

“I knew something was wrong with him, but I didn’t know what,” Tsuna says, reasonable in the face of Gokudera’s emotional outburst. “I wasn’t going to force it out of him. I trusted that he’d tell us when he was ready.”

“So, you basically told Xanxus and his cronies before you told us.” Gokudera turns to Takeshi again, eyes still glowing. “Were you _ever_ going to tell us?”

Takeshi nods, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “I thought you’d hate me,” he admits in a rush, and whatever fury that remained in Gokudera’s eyes and body language sputtered out at the raw vulnerability in Takeshi’s voice. “I _had_ to do it, Hayato, I – You’re Tsuna’s right hand, okay? You _are._ It’s not even a competition anymore, and tonight just proves it, doesn’t it?”

“That’s not – ”

“I have to be something else,” Takeshi continues before he loses the courage. “I’m the hitman, the assassin, whatever you wanna call me. And I’m _good_ at it, I – I even like doing it sometimes, and I never wanted any of you to know that, but it’s not something I can hide forever.”

He’s said more than he wanted to, and the situation has obviously spiraled beyond his control. It’s gone from a spat between Takeshi and Gokudera to Takeshi baring his entire soul to his friends. In some sense, it’s liberating – the truths that have been weighing Takeshi down for weeks are no longer his burden to bear.

Nana, Takeshi’s father, and Reborn all told Takeshi that this wasn’t something his friends would shy away from. Takeshi has wanted to believe them, and now he’s finally going to see if they were right.

When Takeshi focuses on Gokudera again, he isn’t prepared for his friend’s absolutely stricken expression. His eyes are back to their usual green, but they’re just as intense as they are when they reflect Gokudera’s inner Flame. “Why would we hate you for that?” he asks. “Why would _I?_ You’re – God, you make me so fucking mad. You could be a serial killer, and I wouldn’t give a shit at this point. What does that say about me? If you’re fucked up, then so am I.”

Takeshi can only stare.

“You really thought that would be a dealbreaker?” Hibari asks when Takeshi maintains his stunned silence. “I thought you’d kill the baby the first night he asked us if we’d live and die for Sawada. I’ve always known you were a predator.”

“It’s really not that big a deal,” Sasagawa adds quietly, and that, more than anything, hits Takeshi like a Deathperation bullet. Out of all of them, Sasagawa was the most resistant to their new normal, and Takeshi had been prepared to lose the older boy’s respect forever at the least. “We’re mafia. I just kinda expect that thing now.”

Dokuro nods, still lazily holding her trident as she meets Takeshi’s gaze. “I’m glad you’re being honest with us, Yamamoto-senpai. I know I already told you this, but we were all really worried about you.”

“It’s like you’ve forgotten I wiped out an entire mafia Family,” Rokudo says flippantly. “Maybe we’re both going to Hell, but they’ll be right there with us for just not caring about it.”

“But, Mukuro-sama, those people were so awful to you and the others!”

“Sometimes bad people just have to go,” Gokudera says quietly, and when their eyes meet, Takeshi wonders why he’d thought they wouldn’t understand. “It’s not like you’re killing innocents. Are you?”

Takeshi quickly shakes his head. “ _No._ They were all – ” He pauses, feeling the weight of Lambo’s innocent, wide-eyed stare. “They were horrible. Every single one of them.”

Gokudera’s jaw flexes as he nods. “I know you wouldn’t take someone’s life just for the hell of it, Takeshi. You’re not that kind of person.”

Gokudera says it so confidently, like there was never any doubt in his mind. Takeshi doesn’t know what to do with that. He’s unsure and overwhelmed, and he looks to Tsuna on instinct before he realizes what a terrible idea that is.

But whatever he’d expected Tsuna to do when he heard all of Takeshi’s horrible truths is nothing compared to the reality. Because all Tsuna does is watch, just like he’d done after Takeshi spent hours at his bedside in the future. And when he catches Takeshi’s gaze, he smiles.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Takeshi,” he says, and Takeshi swallows down an abrupt wave of relieved hysteria. “We’re all just here doing our best, you know? If you think you’ve finally figured yourself out, then I’m happy for you.”

“How?” Takeshi asks, half desperate, because he truly doesn’t get it. “I’m – How are you not scared of me? Of what I can do?”

Takeshi stays completely still as Tsuna steps up to him and pulls him down into a hug. “I told you, didn’t I?” The words are murmured directly into Takeshi’s ear, and his eyes slip shit as he’s unable to suppress his full-body shiver. “You’re my best friend. My Rain. _Mine._ I’ll never leave you.”

 _You really are the love of my life,_ Takeshi thinks, even as he knows he’ll never, ever say it.

* * *

Later that night, Takeshi startles awake to a buzzing on his bedside table. He shifts around in the sheets, mouth dry and mind muddled. When he finally manages to roll over and grab his phone, the screen is bright with a single message:

**Tsuna**

I’m outside

To say Takeshi springs out of bed is an understatement. He practically falls on the floor, tangled in the sheets, and they only come loose from around his legs on his way down the stairs. Takeshi stumbles into the darkened restaurant and manages to bang his hip on the bar, but the dull pain is an afterthought as he makes for the door.

Tsuna stands there in his favorite oversized, orange hoodie and ripped jeans, expression unreadable in the darkened stoop of TakeSushi. Before Takeshi can even think to say anything, Tsuna lurches forward, nearly tripping into Takeshi’s arms in an overly warm bundle.

“I have to tell you something,” Tsuna says in a rush, the urgency in his voice so unexpected at such a late hour. “I wanted to say it earlier, but I – the others were there, and there was just way too much going on.”

Takeshi shushes him, pushing the door shut before giving Tsuna his full attention. “It’s okay, Tsuna. You can tell me now. You can tell me anything.”

“I saw it,” Tsuna admits, voice barely above a whisper, mouth catching on the fabric of Takeshi’s dark blue t-shirt. “Earlier. I don’t know how, and I can’t explain it, but my Hyper Intuition showed me when you said… that I’m the love of your life. I could almost hear your voice, and it – it was so _beautiful._ ”

It takes a moment for Takeshi to realize what Tsuna is saying, but even then, his brain refuses to accept the reality of it. He remains frozen as Tsuna withdraws from him, his entire body going cold even as his heart takes up an erratic tempo. “Takeshi,” he thinks he hears Tsuna say, but it’s muffled, like they're both underwater.

He’s done it. He’s ruined it. Tsuna was never supposed to know, Takeshi was never supposed to be a burden to him, even his _thoughts_ were incapable of _shutting the fuck up_ –

Takeshi can pinpoint the exact moment Tranquility starts to take effect, slowly numbing his mind to the panic that threatens to drown him, but then there are warm hands grasping either side of his face, and Takeshi _feels_ himself being coerced up and out of the fog.

It’s gentle in a way most things aren’t anymore, and Takeshi gasps, having nowhere to look but at the glowing orange eyes that peer up into his own. “Don’t hide from me,” Tsuna whispers, _pleads,_ and for the second time in just a few days, Takeshi is overcome by an unbearable urge to give Tsuna whatever he wants. “It’s okay, Takeshi, you can love me.”

“Not… like that,” Takeshi rasps, hating how exposed he feels despite it being just the two of them. “I don’t love you like the others do. Like a Guardian should.”

Tsuna mouth twitches as he looks up at Takeshi in near desperation, hands trembling on Takeshi’s face like he’s resisting some unfathomable urge. “I _know_ that. I feel it every time you look at me. And I’m telling you it’s _okay._ I’m – How could I not love you back?”

Something monumental is staring Takeshi directly in the eye, but he still can’t quite grasp what’s happening. Tsuna is set to lead the most influential mafia family in the world. Takeshi has killed nearly a dozen people and will kill hundreds more. They’re first years in high school and can’t possibly know what love is.

“Stop it,” Tsuna says abruptly, gripping Takeshi’s face with a bit more force. His right thumb brushes the skin underneath Takeshi’s eye, and it’s just shy of the most pleasurable thing Takeshi has ever felt. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong.”

Takeshi doesn’t understand what’s happening to him. Everything he’s wanted for months is standing right in front of him, and he’s too scared to accept it. He’s never doubted his feelings for Tsuna, and he knows Tsuna would never lie to him, especially not about this.

So, _why?_ Why can’t Takeshi make himself believe it?

Tsuna’s eyes flit over Takeshi’s face, as if trying to drink in every nuance of whatever it is Takeshi is feeling. Takeshi doesn’t know what Tsuna sees, what his Hyper Intuition is telling him, but whatever it is makes the fire in his eyes burn brighter. Tsuna makes a small sound in the back of his throat, and he steps forward again, sliding his hands down to Takeshi’s waist and pressing his forehead against his clavicle.

“Do you want to know when I knew?” Tsuna’s voice is a quiet, delicate thing, but it doesn’t waver. He speaks without fumbling, the way he does when he’s sure of himself and wants the acknowledgement of those around him. Takeshi’s hands stay at his sides, and without Tsuna’s face to latch onto, he stares at his own reflection in the glass paneling on the door.

“That day you first went to the future,” Tsuna continues, “I thought there was something wrong with me. Lambo uses the Bazooka all the time, but it was _different_ when I felt you leave. I’ve never felt that panicked, not even when I pulled you off the roof. I thought that I needed to get to you, or I’d literally die.”

Takeshi remembers that day clearly, recalls coming to on Tsuna’s bed, seeing his friend in tears. That was the day Tsuna had called him by his given name for the first time, declaring Takeshi his best friend later in the night. For all the guilt Takeshi has felt over his actions that day, those memories are some of his most precious.

“When I got home, and I saw your future self with Hayato, I couldn’t believe you were the same person. You’re always so warm and full of life, and he was _cold._ He looked at me like he was seeing right through me. He smiled and called me by name, but it felt like I was talking to a stranger.”

Takeshi has never heard about his future self in these terms; or at all, now that Takeshi thinks about it. He never wondered why the others didn’t speak of his future self, but it makes sense now, if this is the impression he left. And Takeshi can’t possibly know how his older self was feeling, but he knows the future he came from was one without Tsuna.

Takeshi inherently knows that the version of himself Tsuna had seen was completely broken. He’s the person Takeshi will become if they fail.

“I wanted to help him,” Tsuna whispers, sounding so heartbroken that Takeshi finally lifts his arms to return the embrace, smoothing his hands over Tsuna’s strong back, “but I couldn’t. I could tell that seeing me only made things worse, and you know what the hardest part was? He was virtually a stranger, but he still looked at me the same way you do.”

 _Don’t,_ Takeshi thinks desperately. He’s damned at this point, but he doesn’t want to hear Tsuna say it.

“He looked at me like I was everything.” Tsuna laughs after he says it, and it’s a slightly wet sound, bogged down with emotion and tears. “Like I wasn’t the reason he was so unhappy. Like my dying hadn’t absolutely destroyed him. It was so different from how Lambo reacted to me in the park. And it made sense to me! I thought, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s how I’d be if Takeshi died.’ That’s when I knew how I felt about you was different, that _we’re_ different. He and I didn’t look away from one another a single time until you came back, and I know I was so mean to you, but I told myself that day that I would do _anything_ to make sure you'd never have to miss me like that.”

“Tsuna… ” Takeshi says, completely at a loss, but Tsuna isn’t finished.

“I tried to stop it.” Tsuna shakes his head against Takeshi’s collarbone, his grip around his waist tightening even further. “I tried not to – to _love_ you, and I’m _sorry._ I thought that would be better if something did end up happening to me, but I know that was really stupid. I should’ve been thinking of a way to live with you instead of worrying about you being prepared if that didn’t happen. I messed up, Takeshi, but I’m not gonna pretend anymore. I love you, okay? Like you love me, like our parents loved each other, like – like – ”

In that moment, Takeshi can’t help but think of late nights with his mother spent watching movies on the floor in the living room. He thinks of every time they watched _Cinderella,_ how she would gather him in her lap and croon in his ear, unable to hold a tune but still delivering the words with passion, holding Takeshi tight despite his giggling and squirming. “‘ _My heart has wings, and I can fly. I’ll touch every star in the sky. So, this is the miracle I’ve been dreaming of.’ Oh, come on, Take-chan, sing with me!”_

“Like a fairy tale,” Takeshi manages to say before bursting into sobs.

* * *

Tsuna doesn’t leave that night. He follows Takeshi back to his room, and he only protests marginally when Takeshi tells him to take the bed, that he’ll sleep on the spare futon.

In the darkness of Takeshi’s bedroom, they don’t speak for a long time. Takeshi’s head pounds rhythmically after all the crying he’d done, cradled in the spread of Tsuna’s legs after they’d both collapsed to the floor downstairs. Part of Takeshi feels like he should be embarrassed, but he’s still not entirely convinced he isn’t dreaming.

Eventually, Takeshi hears Tsuna shifting on the bed, followed by a quiet, “Takeshi?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry,” Tsuna says quietly, and Takeshi frowns up at the darkened ceiling. “I don’t – My Hyper Intuition doesn’t normally work like that. I feel like I invaded your privacy.”

“It’s okay, Tsuna,” Takeshi replies. “I know you can’t control it.”

Tsuna laughs lightly above him. “I thought I’d imagined it at first. But when we got home, Mukuro told me that your feelings for me were ‘disgustingly bright,’ and I knew he’d seen it, too.”

“But – How – ”

“We kinda share thoughts sometimes. It’s hard to explain, but we have a telepathic connection or something. Me, him, and Chrome. I’ve gotten better at controlling what gets through, but I guess I was too overwhelmed to keep it to myself this time.”

Takeshi winces, though he can’t deny his curiosity. Tsuna said he’d seen Takeshi’s thoughts, though he knows Hyper Intuition has never worked like that before. Tsuna has described it as an especially strong gut feeling, so how had it managed to directly translate what Takeshi was thinking?

“Can you tell me about it?” Takeshi eventually asks. “What you saw?”

Tsuna is quiet for a while, and Takeshi stays still, giving him time to collect his thoughts. “It was like light.” Takeshi closes his eyes, lets Tsuna’s words wash over him. “And it had your voice. It’s not like I was actually _seeing_ it. It was just in my head, you know? But it was still real. It was so warm, and it felt like your eyes on me. I know it doesn’t make sense, but it felt like love.”

“It does,” Takeshi says. He can clearly picture the emotion Tsuna saw and heard against the back of his own eyelids: a flash of light, burning intensely before inevitably disappearing, drowned out but never fading. It’s a sight from childhood, as familiar to Takeshi as his own reflection. “That makes perfect sense to me.”

* * *

He comes to standing at the shore of a star-dappled lake. He lets the gentle waves wash over his bare feet, musing that this is as close as he’ll ever get to the stars that granted his dearest wish. _Mom would love it here,_ Takeshi thinks, and when he lifts his head to gaze out across the water, there’s a man standing before him.

It’s like looking into a mirror, although the man is taller than Takeshi, with soft lines at his eyes that indicate decades of love and laughter. He’s wearing robes of blue and white and a tall, black hat, the kinds noblemen wear in historical depictions of the Heian era. Their eyes meet, and the man’s eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles.

“I’ve wanted to meet you,” he says in a low, smooth voice. The water ripples around him, tugging at his clothing, but he stands tall in the shallows of the lake, unperturbed. “I can see that you’ll be a good Rain to your Sky.”

“I want that,” Takeshi replies. “More than anything. I want to give him everything.”

The man nods, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robe. “You will. And he’ll give you everything in return, if you let him.”

They gaze at one another for a few long moments. Takeshi feels as if he should know who this person is, but he can’t find the words to ask. They clog his throat whenever he tries to give them voice, so Takeshi stops trying. Instead, he clings to that vague sense of familiarity, of nostalgia. Whoever this man is, Takeshi knows he can trust him.

Eventually, the man steps forward, wading through the water toward Takeshi. “The Vongola aren’t perfect,” he says solemnly, “and you may doubt your choices someday. But trust in yourself and your fellow Guardians. You need one another just as you need the Sky.”

“We won’t betray him,” Takeshi says fiercely, only because it feels right in that moment. “We’ll always be together.”

This time, when the man smiles, it speaks only of a deeply rooted sadness; a terrible, tremendous loss. “Your bonds are stronger than most that came before,” he says. “Just make sure you take care of them.”

 _Always_ , Takeshi wants to say, but the man is gone, leaving nothing but still water in his wake.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses for my absence other than that being an ARMY is a 25/8 job. Oh, and I also got a pet bunny and she requires most of my attention that I don't spend stanning.

The next morning, Takeshi wakes up feeling as if he’d been dreaming, though he can’t remember what. It quickly becomes an afterthought, however, when he hears Tsuna whispering his name, the sound probably having been what woke him in the first place.

“Hm?” Takeshi hums, turning his head on his pillow to squint at the bright light being shoved in his face. “What’s – ”

“Takeshi,” Tsuna says, and half-asleep as he is, Takeshi still registers how the other boy’s voice trembles. “ _Takeshi._ ”

Takeshi blinks once, twice, forces himself to focus on the screen of Tsuna’s phone.

**Reborn-san**

Byakuran’s been dealt with. None of you are going to school today. We’re going to have a little chat with your father soon, so hurry home.

* * *

The others are outside when Takeshi and Tsuna arrive, and although they don’t speak, their grim expressions say everything and more. “Where’s Lambo?” Tsuna asks.

“With Nana-san,” Gokudera replies. “She left with him and I-Pin, but she promised they wouldn’t go far.”

Tsuna nods, ascending the steps and entering the house without sparing any of the others a glance. Sasagawa looks to Takeshi questioningly, but the Rain Guardian can only shrug. “He’s been like that since he got Reborn’s text,” he explains.

The others turn to follow Tsuna inside, but Gokudera snags Takeshi’s arm before he can do the same. There’s a storm quietly brewing in his eyes as he says, “Stay on your guard. I know we’re operating under the assumption that Colonello and Lal Mirch sent us to the future, but if they did, it was on Iemitsu’s orders.”

Takeshi glances at the Sawada house. “You don’t think we can trust him?”

Gokudera shakes his head. “At this point, we have no reason to trust his or the Nono’s decisions regarding Tsuna.”

Even if Takeshi wholeheartedly agrees, it’s still a surprise to hear such a thing from Gokudera, who grew up within the Vongola and has remained ever faithful.

Takeshi has never felt any loyalty to the Vongola, but ever since Nana told them about Iemitsu and Timoteo having sealed Tsuna’s Dying Will Flames when he was a child, Takeshi has carried a healthy distrust of the organization’s intentions regarding Tsuna. It’s nice to know that he isn’t alone in that, though he’s long past the point of being surprised when Gokudera has his back on something.

Takeshi follows Gokudera into the house, and just stepping over the threshold has Takeshi on edge. The energy in the air makes his fingers twitch, and he wishes he’d thought to bring Shigure Kintoki along.

Tsuna is just sitting down at the table in the living room when Takeshi and Gokudera walk in. Reborn is in the chair beside him, cross-legged in the booster seat usually reserved for Lambo. Hibari is standing beside Tsuna, but when he catches Takeshi’s eye, he turns and heads to the couch where the others are already waiting.

Wordlessly, Takeshi and Gokudera move to stand behind Tsuna’s chair, flanking him on either side. This isn’t the first time they’ve all gathered around the table like this, but something about it definitely feels different to Takeshi. It certainly doesn’t escape his notice that Iemitsu is entirely alone.

Tsuna and Iemitsu sit on opposite sides, staring at one another in absolute silence. Tsuna seems relatively calm despite the circumstances, but Takeshi can feel the undercurrent of his Sky’s simmering anger, pulsing just beneath his skin.

“Well, I’m here,” Tsuna says. “Does anyone want to tell me what’s going on?”

For the first time in recent memory, Iemitsu doesn’t attempt to crack a smile. Usually, he at least makes some sort of attempt to alleviate the tension his presence brings. Maybe it’s the fact that Nana’s gone, or maybe Iemitsu recognizes that Tsuna isn’t in the mood for his antics.

“First, I just want to let you know that I’m glad you and your friends are safe,” Iemitsu says. “What happened was unfortunate, but I think it was necessary.”

“So, you _were_ the one who had us sent to the future. And you asked Colonnello to do it for you? Lal Mirch?”

Iemitsu nods, mouth set in a firm line. “I see you met Lal, then. She’s a trusted subordinate of mine, and she and Colonnello have known one another for many years, so I agreed when she wanted to bring him on board.”

“Okay,” Tsuna says slowly. “So, why did you have them do it? What was the point?”

“I can’t tell you that right now,” Iemitsu replies, and Tsuna’s shoulders stiffen a little. “All I can say is that your progress was… disappointingly slow, to myself and the Nono. It was decided that you needed a push in the right direction.”

That, more than anything, makes Takeshi’s blood boil. How can either of them know anything about the progress Tsuna has or hasn’t made? Iemitsu only shows up when the mood strikes him, the Ninth Vongola boss was unconscious the one time they saw him. They haven’t seen even an _ounce_ of the progress Tsuna’s made. They don’t have the faintest idea just how much Tsuna has given up for the Vongola, or how hard he’s worked to live up to everyone’s expectations of him.

Tsuna is quiet for a long moment before he says, “So, let me get this straight. You weren’t happy with the way Reborn was training me, so you decided to just undermine him and put us all in danger.”

“There were underlying circumstances,” Iemitsu replies evenly. He seems remarkably unaffected, and his stoic expression kind of pisses Takeshi off. “We had reason to believe that sending you to the future would benefit you. Are you telling me that wasn’t the case?”

“I don’t think that really matters,” Tsuna retorts. “The point is that you had Lal Mirch and Colonello ambush me and my Guardians and sent us into a potentially dangerous situation. Never mind the fact that you’re my dad, I’m the next in line to be _your_ boss. What if I’d died?”

From beyond Tsuna’s shoulder, Takeshi fixes Iemitsu with a withering glare, and even if he can’t see his face, Takeshi knows Gokudera is doing the same at his side.

“It was a gamble,” Iemitsu allows, “one I felt needed to be taken.”

Takeshi’s fingers twitch, and he glances into the living room, where the others are huddled up on the couch as they listen. Sasagawa and Dokuro are the most visibly outraged by Iemitsu’s admission, but there are quiet promises in Hibari’s and Rokudo’s eyes that Takeshi hopes aren’t antagonized into fruition.

“Great,” Tsuna says, voice deceptively blank. “That’s good to know. Can you go now, before Mom comes home?”

Iemitsu’s eyes flash as he says, “Tsunayoshi, I know it may not seem like it, but I’m doing these things for you. You’ve come a long way, but you’re still nowhere near prepared to take on the Vongola Tenth position.”

“How would you know?” Takeshi demands before he can stop himself. “You haven’t been here. It hasn’t even been a _year,_ why are you pushing Tsuna so hard?”

Iemitsu glances up at him with a tight-lipped smile on his face. “Look, Takeshi-kun, I know you’re concerned as my son’s Guardian, but – ”

“Takeshi isn’t just my Guardian,” Tsuna cuts in testily. “He’s my best friend _and_ my boyfriend, so he’s allowed to be concerned.”

The way Iemitsu goes white as a sheet would be funnier if Takeshi weren’t struggling to wrap his mind around the way Tsuna says the word _boyfriend_ with so much confidence. “You’re gay?” Iemitsu splutters, eyes darting over Tsuna’s face as if searching for an explanation.

There’s a moment, right after Iemitsu speaks, where it seems as if the temperature in the room drops. Takeshi sucks in a breath – he’s only ever felt this twice before, with Squalo and then Reborn – but it doesn’t take him long to identify the source of his bad feeling.

Hibari stands from the couch, and Takeshi begins to panic, knowing he’s too far away to do anything. But Sasagawa, who was sitting next to Hibari, must see something telling in Takeshi’s expression, because he shoots to his feet and grabs Hibari’s arm, hissing a quiet, “Hibari, _don’t._ ”

“Let go of me,” Hibari says, eyes burning. He doesn’t fight Sasagawa’s hold on him, but his eyes never once leave Iemitsu. “I’m fucking _sick_ of him.”

“Kyouya, it’s okay,” Tsuna says placatingly, and Hibari’s eyes slide to him as the two share a long look. “He wasn’t expecting to hear this.”

“Who cares what he expects?” Hibari snaps. “Who is _he_ to be asking questions? He has nothing to do with you.”

“Tsunayoshi is my son,” Iemitsu attempts to argue, but then a quiet voice says, "And Tsuna is their Sky.”

Reborn has remained silent as father and son hashed out their grievances, so silent in fact that Takeshi had somehow managed to forget he was even there.

None of the hitman’s usual energy seems to be present, nor the aura that Takeshi has learned to recognize as one of the deadliest he’s ever encountered.

Even now, as he speaks, Reborn seems so… small.

“I guess you wouldn’t understand,” Reborn continues as Sasagawa coaxes Hibari back down onto the couch. “Normal Flame users don’t feel the same sort of pull Vongola bosses do with their Guardians. These kids have a stronger connection to your son than you ever will, and that’s just how it is. Don’t take out your own insecurities on them.”

Takeshi is careful to keep his surprise out of his expression, though he does exchange a quick glance with Gokudera. Iemitsu’s brow furrows in anger as he says, “You forget yourself, Reborn. This is a Vongola matter, and last I checked, you were just the hired help.”

“You’ve been fine leaving me with him up until now,” Tsuna snaps, and Takeshi wonders what his eyes must look like. “If you didn’t want him butting in, you should’ve said something way before today.”

“It was Timoteo’s decision to bring him in, not mine,” Iemitsu replies with no small amount of heat in his voice.

“And you sat back like the good dog you are and let it happen. We know,” Reborn tuts. “I’m here for the kid, Iemitsu, not to play nice with you.”

“And Timoteo must not be satisfied with your efforts,” Iemitsu retorts, “if he thought an intervention was necessary.”

Tsuna twitches, like he’s making to stand from the table, but Reborn speaks again before he can. “You’re right,” the hitman says. “I haven’t done what he wanted at all. It certainly wasn’t in my job description to kill the Gesso Family’s little boss.”

Iemitsu goes quiet. His expression seems deceptively blank, far removed from the own sense of shock and _disbelief_ Takeshi feels within himself. Someone in the room makes a strangled noise, but Takeshi can’t tell who.

“You… killed the boss of the Gesso Family?” Iemitsu says at length. “Byakuran?”

“The very same,” Reborn replies, sounding bored. “He was becoming a thorn in my side.”

“Are you _insane?_ ” Iemitsu roars, standing from the table so abruptly his chair falls to the floor with a clatter. Takeshi barely takes note of it, as he’s still trying to accept the reality of the situation. Reborn had said in his message to Tsuna that Byakuran had been dealt with, but _this_ isn’t what Takeshi had imagined. “Do you understand what this means? Do you have _any_ idea what this could mean for the Vongola?”

Reborn sighs. “I may look like a child, but don’t talk to me like one. And, frankly, I don’t care what this means for the Vongola. I’m not a member, as you pointed out.”

“ _Reborn!_ ”

“I may be under contract with Timoteo right now, but I killed Byakuran because I felt like it,” Reborn says evenly. “It will reflect on the Vongola about as much as it’ll reflect on any of the other Families. I have ties with them all, not just you.”

Iemitsu seems so furious he’s nearly nonverbal, but he’s entirely alone in that feeling. The implications of what Reborn has done are far beyond Takeshi’s comprehension. All he knows is that he’s aware of three future timelines where Byakuran kills Tsuna.

This is the first timeline where that won’t happen, because _Reborn_ of all people stepped in.

Because he just… felt like it.

“Don’t be mad at him,” Tsuna says, though his voice is unsteady in a way it hasn’t been all day. He sounds small, out of his depth. “I – I’ll talk to the Nono, Reborn only did it because – ”

“ _Tsuna_ ,” Reborn cuts in sharply. “Just leave it alone. Don’t speak about things you don’t understand.”

“Does Timoteo know about this?” Iemitsu asks through gritted teeth. He’s still standing, hands clenched into fists at his sides. He stares at Reborn – his son’s _savior_ – with unmasked disdain and fury.

Reborn shrugs. “If he doesn’t already, I’m sure he will by the end of the day.”

And that’s the end of it.

* * *

Things are quiet, after.

Iemitsu leaves without a word, and Reborn sticks around long enough for Nana to return with the kids before he disappears again. He doesn’t answer any of their questions about where he’d been or why he’d decided to move forward with killing Byakuran on his own.

Only Takeshi, who remembers their conversations in the future, doesn’t ask a single question.

“I don’t get it,” Tsuna says quietly. He sits with his head down in the circle they’ve created with their bodies on the living room floor. It’s well past the time they would usually leave, but it seems unspoken that none of them will be going home tonight. “Why would Reborn do that? It really didn’t have anything to do with him.”

“Who knows?” Sasagawa replies. “I don’t think we’ll ever know what goes on in his head.”

“He took a huge bullet for us,” Gokudera says. He’s been especially somber since everything went down, though there are dozens of reasons as to why that might be. “No matter what he says, this can’t end well. No one close to the situation will believe it was just a random killing.”

Takeshi frowns, glancing over at Tsuna. He’s looked close to tears all evening, both before and after he’d spent hours beseeching Reborn, begging him for an explanation. “You didn’t have to do that,” he’d cried. “You shouldn’t have done that for me.”

Reborn only said one thing in response, too somber and simple to be believed. “I didn’t.”

“I get it, though,” Takeshi admits quietly, drawing the attention of the others. “I don’t know what we did that our future selves didn’t, but… Reborn really did kill Byakuran because he wanted to. He wanted to save you, Tsuna. I know he did.”

“I know he did, too,” Tsuna murmurs, scrubbing at his eyes furiously as they well up once more. “That’s why I’m so _mad._ He’s just – He was only supposed to be my tutor. He shouldn’t have gotten involved like this.”

“I don’t think that was possible,” Hibari says, though he says nothing further.

“The fact that he isn’t technically affiliated with the Vongola is the only thing saving you,” Rokudo comments. “I wouldn’t push, if I were you. Let him deal with the repercussions on his own.”

Tsuna looks up at that, eyes blazing as he gazes across the circle at Rokudo. “You know I can’t do that. If Reborn ends up punished or _hunted_ by the other Families… I can’t just sit around and let that happen!”

“It’s obviously what Reborn-san wants you to do.” Dokuro picks at her nails, eye downcast as she leans heavily against Rokudo’s side. “He did all this so we wouldn’t have to. I just – It’s too sad. _He_ seemed sad.”

Takeshi can’t decide if he thinks Reborn had seemed sad earlier. Exhausted, maybe. Less than what he usually was, certainly. Maybe that’s just what sadness looks like for him.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it, now,” Sasagawa says. He straightens his back, hands on his knees, as he gazes at everyone in turn. “Tsuna’s safe, and that’s what matters.” Tsuna looks like he’s about to protest, but Sasagawa continues before he can. “So, what’s this about you two being boyfriends now?”

“Is this really the time?” asks Takeshi.

“Frankly, I’m offended we weren’t told sooner,” Gokudera pipes in. “When did this happen? Is this why you disappeared last night, Boss?”

Tsuna’s cheeks and ears go red as he stammers, “Well, I – I couldn’t wait anymore, I guess.”

“I _told_ you Takeshi wouldn’t turn you down,” Sasagawa exclaims. “In what world would you two not end up together, like seriously?”’

“I’m just glad all the useless pining will stop,” Hibari says. “It was such a waste of time.”

Tsuna glares at Hibari, and even despite his red and bloodshot eyes, he seems playful. “Well, I’m sorry we were such an _inconvenience_ to you.”

“It was kind of entertaining,” Rokudo muses. “Wouldn’t you say, Chrome?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d put it like that,” Dokuro allows, “but it _was_ a little romantic.”

Tsuna groans, covering his face with his hands, though Takeshi just lets it all flow over him. He’d never believed they would get to this point, and even if all the teasing is at their expense, Takeshi can’t find it within himself to be embarrassed.

“What’s with that look, Takeshi?” Gokudera asks him, and Takeshi smiles when Tsuna peaks at him from between his fingers.

“Nothing,” Takeshi replies. “I’m just happy.”

* * *

They go back to school the following week with no small amount of trepidation. No matter who Tsuna spoke to or how much digging Hibari did, they couldn’t find out what became of Reborn after he’d left the Sawada house.

Takeshi knows it’s the not knowing that bothers Tsuna the most. Whatever Reborn might say or do, he’d been a constant presence at Tsuna’s side throughout the most chaotic period of his life, and even if Tsuna won’t say so, Takeshi knows he misses Reborn.

All this to say, none of them are expecting to see the hitman when they come in for homeroom. So, the surprised shout Tsuna lets out when they see Reborn at his usual spot atop the teacher’s desk is entirely warranted, if not a little jarring.

“Where have you _been_?” Tsuna cries. “You just – I thought – ”

The look Reborn fixes Tsuna with is mostly unimpressed, although Takeshi thinks he sees something else there, some other emotion he can’t quite place. “You worry too much,” the hitman says. “You’ll die of stress at this rate, and then everything I’ve done will have been for nothing.”

“The Nono didn’t… punish you?” Gokudera asks, sounding hesitant. “I didn’t actually think we’d ever see you again.”

Reborn snorts. “What’s he going to do, kill me? No, he just fired me as Tsuna’s tutor, is all. And banned me from the Vongola estate for the next hundred years, but those are just details. Timoteo will get over it.”

Sasagawa blinks slowly at that. “Fired? Then what are you doing here?”

“Obviously I have nothing better to do than hold your guys’ hands,” Reborn replies, and Dokuro giggles, eye bright with happiness when Takeshi glances at her. “I’m still a teacher here, technically, and I take my jobs very seriously.”

The situation is utterly ridiculous, but it’s such a Reborn thing to do that Takeshi can’t be surprised. All he really cares about is the blatant joy in Tsuna’s expression, and the warmth in his voice when he says, “We’ll be counting on you, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> expect the next update soon, as an apology for my extended break <3


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind that there is a five year time skip in this chapter!

The day before his twentieth birthday, Takeshi goes out on a job.

He doesn’t enter through the front gate because that would be boring. Instead, Takeshi scales the security fence and meanders through the huge garden he’d seen on drone footage a few days previously. It’s filled entirely with blue roses, and Takeshi wonders how much it cost to produce them.

Takeshi stoops over, curious to see what they smell like and disappointed to find that they’re basically just normal roses. Ziro crowds in beside him, wet nose twitching, but she only manages a few sniffs before backing off with a sneeze. “Are they really that bad?” Takeshi asks, and the brown and white shiba whines, pawing at her nose. “Hm, maybe Tsuna wouldn’t like them, then.”

_“Were you really planning on taking flowers from the garden?”_

“Maybe,” Takeshi says only somewhat defensively, smiling at the lighthearted laughter that filters in through his earpiece. “They would’ve looked nice on his desk.”

 _“I think it’s a sweet gesture,”_ Dokuro says, and Takeshi is about to reply when Ziro barks beside him.

Takeshi pushes himself to his feet, tilting his face to the sky and lifting a hand as Koziro flutters down to perch on his forefinger. “Hey, buddy,” Takeshi says, rubbing the back of a knuckle along the white feathers on Koziro’s chest. “You did a really good job.”

Koziro preens under the attention, flapping his wings twice before taking off again. He’ll circle the perimeter until Takeshi’s finished, just in case he needs to use Tranquility Rain again. “How’s it looking, Chrome?” Takeshi asks, moving through the garden with Ziro falling into step beside him.

_“The surveillance footage is still looping. The only people I see in the garden cams are the gardeners from this morning.”_

“Remind me to thank Giannini later.” The terrace doors are wide open as Takeshi wanders through. When he steps into the mansion, he immediately notices two maids lying on the floor further down the hall. Takeshi has half a mind to check if they’re still breathing, but he’s kind of in a hurry, so he turns his back and heads for the staircase at the end of the corridor. Koziro’s Tranquility Rain has never accidentally killed an innocent, and Takeshi has no reason to think it has now. “I’m in the East Wing staircase. We still lookin’ good?”

_“Yes, cams are empty. You don’t need to keep asking, senpai, Giannini-san won’t pull the footage until he hears from me.”_

“Listen, I still remember what happened at the Uffizi,” Takeshi argues over Dokuro’s laughter. Ziro bolts ahead of him on the stairs, leaping over a man splayed out over the last five or so steps. He looks like one of the security guards, with a Bluetooth in his ear similar to Takeshi’s. Takeshi carefully steps around him and keeps going. “I was trending on Twitter for like three days.”

 _“The Ghost of Uffizi Gallery,”_ Dokuro says ominously, voice pitched lower than usual. _“And he apologized for that.”_

It’s kind of funny in hindsight, although Takeshi caught a lot of shit for it from Gokudera and Hibari. He’d gone to the gallery to intercept a group of art thieves, but they’d turned out to be a splinter group from a well-trained militia force within the Bovino. Things had turned bloody quickly, and although he hadn’t killed any of them, Takeshi didn’t manage to make it clear of the building before the security cameras came back on. It resulted in a blurry image of Takeshi covered in blue Flame as he cleaned the blood from his clothing.

Apparently, an employee had leaked the image before Hibari got to it – although Takeshi has always suspected Hibari just left it alone on purpose – and by the next day, the Ghost of Uffizi Gallery was born.

That incident really put them at odds with the Bovino. They hadn’t authorized the art stealing, but they also didn’t take kindly to the Vongola Decimo’s Rain Guardian maiming four of their best men over some old paintings. Takeshi had argued that _they_ attacked _him_ first, and the Bovino had mostly backed down when Tsuna intervened, letting them know under no uncertain terms that he wasn’t impressed with their lack of control over their own men.

Lambo thought the whole thing was absolutely hysterical. There was no love lost between him and his former Family; he barely remembered his time there as it was. He was as Vongola as any of them, and he enjoyed watching Tsuna crack down on the smaller Families just as much as everyone else.

Although lost in his musings, Takeshi follows where Ziro leads him, and he isn’t surprised when she stops in front of door with two more unconscious guards slumped against the wall on either side. Takeshi can’t think of any politician he’s ever met having as many guards in his home as Alonso Moretti, but it makes sense, considering what the man is involved in.

“I’m about to head in,” Takeshi says. “Feel free to turn me off.”

 _“No, I think I’ll stay on,”_ Dokuro replies. _“Moretti-san wasn’t very nice when I spoke with him, so I’d like to see if he responds to you any differently.”_

She sounds slightly irritated, and Takeshi smiles to himself, patting Ziro on the head as he approaches the door. “Ready, girl?” he asks, and she stares up at him dutifully, tail wagging.

Moretti is at his desk when Takeshi lets himself into the room, talking in rapid Italian to someone on the phone. Takeshi can’t make out what he’s saying – his Italian is abysmal even after nearly five years of studying – but he can tell the man is angry about something. He doesn’t immediately look up as Takeshi enters, probably seeing a suited figure out of the corner of his eye and assuming it’s one of his men, so Takeshi lets Ziro trot in behind him before kicking the door shut.

It’s the sight of Ziro with flickering blue flames in her ears that draws Moretti’s attention from his conversation. He pauses, confusion flickering over his expression as his eyes drift up to Takeshi, who offers a half-hearted wave. “Don’t mind me,” Takeshi says in Japanese, and almost immediately, Moretti’s leathery face goes sickly pale. “That sounds important.”

Moretti says nothing as he lowers the phone from his ear. His hand is shaking as he ends the call and sets the cell phone down on his desk. “ _Pioggia Cremisi_ ,” the man says hoarsely, and although Takeshi barely understands Italian, he’s heard that particular term many, many times.

Crimson Rain. It’s a moniker established within the past two years or so. Takeshi still remembers the first time he’d heard it, gurgled through a mouthful of blood on a pier in Naples.

Gokudera had translated it for him later, laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. “ _Crimson Rain_? Pfft, that’s way too cool for you,” he’d cackled. “ _Please_ , let me be the one to tell the Boss.”

“So, you’ve heard of me?” Takeshi asks, knowing full well the kind of reputation he has in certain circles. “I wasn’t sure if my associates had passed along the message.”

 _“You know Kyouya-senpai and I both told him,”_ Dokuro sighs. _“We always do.”_

Of course, Takeshi knows. They’ve gotten this down to an art over the years. When they have a pest who needs dealing with, Dokuro goes in first to appeal to the person’s humanity. If she decides there’s none to be found, then Hibari heads in with his cold logic and penetrating gaze. If even that fails, then Takeshi has to step in before it becomes an even bigger problem for Tsuna.

Takeshi is a person’s last stop in their private dealings with the Vongola Guardians, and anyone with something to hide always seems to know it.

Moretti certainly does, as he sits shaking in his desk chair without saying a single word. Takeshi doesn’t know if the man can’t speak or if he just understands that there’s nothing left for him to say. “You can tell me who your partners are,” Takeshi continues when it becomes clear Moretti isn’t going to speak, “but only if you want. We’ll find out anyway. They’ll probably scramble like rats as soon as the news breaks about your untimely death.”

There’s another long moment before Moretti says, in accented Japanese, “I can pay you.”

Takeshi is so stunned that it takes a moment for proper anger to set in. Dokuro, on the other hand, immediately bursts into laughter, her giggles so loud in Takeshi’s ear that he wonders if Moretti can hear her. _“Oh, my gosh,”_ she wheezes, _“he’ll pay you, senpai! How much, how much?”_

“I don’t want your _money,_ ” Takeshi growls, practically seething as Moretti flinches back. “You think I’m someone who can be bought? You disrespect Vongola Decimo.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Moretti scrambles to apologize, but he seems to know he’s fucked up, if the tears and the horrible stench of urine are anything to go by. “Please, I – ”

Takeshi’s heard enough. He knows he can’t go at Moretti like he wants to – Hibari already stressed the importance of a bloodless scene for this particular job – but Takeshi has visions of how he’d do it. He shoves those down before he can give into the temptation, only allowing himself to feel mildly amused over the screech Moretti lets out when Takeshi starts walking closer.

But Koziro is still circling, ever attuned to Takeshi’s inner Flame, and he doesn’t spare the effects of Tranquility Rain this time as he flies past the large window behind Moretti. The glass immediately shines with condensation, and Moretti’s wide, terror-stricken eyes roll as he falls forward against his desk with a heavy _thunk._

Koziro’s Flame output is still pretty weak, so Moretti is only unconscious, just like the rest of his staff. Takeshi casually circles around the desk to place a gloved hand on the politician’s shoulder, watching as blue Flames lick at the material of the man’s red button-down.

He’s quick to pull away, angry that the man gets to die an easy, Tranquility death. Moretti’s bodily functions will slow down until they cease completely, and Takeshi thinks it’s too soft an end for a man who has hurt so many of the people whose lives he was supposed to make better. “It’s done,” Takeshi says, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

 _“You did well, Takeshi,”_ Dokuro says softly, calling his name in that way she does when she thinks he needs comforting. _“We’ll be able to flush out his associates now. They’ll definitely panic and make a mistake now that he’s gone.”_

“I just get so _mad_ that people like him exist, you know?” Ziro whines at him, ever attentive to Takeshi’s moods, and they really should be going, but he takes the time to crouch down and pet the fluffy fur around her neck. “It’s like I get rid of one scumbag and another one takes their place.”

 _“That’s part of the job,”_ Dokuro says, and it’s something the both of them have heard many, many times over the years. _“We can talk about it more when you get back. And you really should get going, senpai, Tsuna said he’d be back by lunch.”_

Takeshi swears, taking one last look at Moretti’s body before jogging from the room, Ziro following close behind. “You don’t think he’ll ask for me if he gets there first, do you?”

Dokuro is dead silent for a moment before she says, _“No, of course not,”_ and Takeshi feels dumb for even asking.

* * *

Tsuna does get home first, and he _does_ ask for Takeshi. Dokuro shoots Takeshi a text when he’s about five minutes away from the estate to warn him of his impending doom, and Takeshi has half a mind to recall Ziro from her and Koziro’s Box Weapon before going inside. Tsuna has a soft spot for her, and maybe the sight of her doe-like eyes and fluffy tail will lessen the force of his wrath.

Ultimately, Takeshi decides to take his scolding like a dutiful subordinate, though it doesn’t help that Gokudera, Sasagawa, and Dokuro are present to witness it.

“Takeshi.” Tsuna’s voice takes on that flippant yet pointed edge it gets whenever one of his Guardians – usually Takeshi, Sasagawa, or Lambo – has done something he finds either reckless or stupid. “Where were you? You weren’t supposed to be working today.”

Gokudera sits on the couch in Tsuna’s office, grinning into his newspaper like an absolute jackass. Sasagawa and Dokuro are doing a much better job of pretending like they aren’t enjoying this, attention fixed solely on their phones even though the screens are dark.

“I got you a present,” Takeshi replies cheerfully, extending the bouquet of blue roses to Tsuna for inspection.

He’d popped into a flower shop on his way home and practically begged the clerk to wrap them for him in broken Italian. The woman behind the counter had taken one look at his desperate eyes and nodded solemnly. She hadn’t even bothered to charge him, just handed him the roses with a quiet, “ _In bocca al lupo_.”

Tsuna smiles as he accepts the offering. He leans back against his desk and brings the flowers to his nose, eyes falling shut as he inhales. “They’re lovely,” he says. “Are these from Alonso Moretti’s garden?”

“Okay, hear me out,” Takeshi says quickly as Dokuro and Sasagawa start giggling. “I know you wanted me to take the weekend off, but I’m going to have a much better time knowing that he’s at the morgue.”

The pout that appears on Tsuna’s face makes Takeshi want to either kiss it away or beg for forgiveness. “I wanted you to relax for your birthday,” he huffs, setting the bouquet aside gently before pushing away from his desk and stepping up to Takeshi. He reaches up to grasp the lapels of Takeshi’s suit jacket, and Takeshi’s hands instinctively settle at Tsuna’s hips. “Have I ever said that you make it very difficult to do nice things for you?”

“I got to sleep in today, though,” Takeshi argues.

“Getting up when I do instead of before me is _not_ sleeping in, Takeshi.”

“Can you have your domestic some other time?” Gokudera drawls, turning a page in the newspaper he most definitely isn’t reading. “Shouldn’t we debrief after Takeshi’s little excursion?”

“I _meant it_ when I said no one works on their birthday,” Tsuna declares. “You can tell me about Moretti on Monday. We’re having fun this weekend whether you all like it or not.”

“Can we _please_ get the good stuff out of the cellars?” Sasagawa sets his phone down on his thigh to clasp his hands together in front of his chest. “I know Kyouya and I almost broke our bikes last time, but it won’t happen again.”

Takeshi laughs at the scowl on Tsuna’s face, and he encircles Tsuna’s waist as his boyfriend hooks his chin over Takeshi’s shoulder to glare at Sasagawa. “Only if you promise not to try and drive them. Giannini worked too hard on those motorcycles for you guys to drunkenly crash them into a tree.”

“That was the best night of my life,” Gokudera muses. “I’ve never seen Kyouya that wasted.”

“And you never will again,” Dokuro says, though when her mouth moves, it’s Hibari’s voice they hear. She’s gotten much better at auditory hallucinations, but she really only does it when she wants to poke fun at someone. “What do you think we’ll have to do to convince him?”

“Just set the bottle down in front of him,” Gokudera says. “What else is he gonna do, throw it against the wall? He’d never waste alcohol like that.”

“True.” Sasagawa taps his finger against his chin as he speaks. “Maybe I’ll be able to get him to spar with me if he’s drunk. He never wants to fight anymore.”

“Maybe because we’re adults? And we’re _busy_?”

As the others quietly bicker, Tsuna slowly leans back to fix Takeshi with an overly fond look that makes Takeshi’s heart skip a beat. “You know I love you guys, but you’re being kind of loud, and I want to kiss the birthday boy in peace. You all should leave if you don’t wanna see it.”

“We’ve definitely seen worse,” Gokudera says morosely, and Takeshi laughs even as Tsuna pulls him down.

* * *

After the birthday festivities have ended the following day – and Hibari and Sasagawa have been dragged from their drunken brawl on the front lawn – Takeshi has certain expectations about how the night will go. Tsuna has been a warm, constant presence at his side the entire day, sending aides and guards away with only a look whenever they wander too close. He’d made his instructions perfectly clear – neither he nor any of his Guardians were to be bothered over the weekend unless the fate of the world was at stake – so Takeshi doesn’t spare any sympathy for those who chose to ignore their boss.

These days, it’s rare to receive Tsuna’s undivided attention, so Takeshi plans to take complete advantage. Whether that attention leads to cuddling, sex, or escaping to the countryside to stargaze, Takeshi doesn’t really care.

So, when Tsuna drags him back to their bedroom after dinner, Takeshi is nearly trembling with anticipation. Tsuna notices, because of course he does, and the smile he shoots Takeshi is just as soothing as it is wicked. There’s promise in his eyes, an intent that Takeshi has grown familiar with, and he desperately _wants._

Takeshi lets himself be guided, perfectly content with being pushed back into their gold and navy blankets, the colors of their Family. Tsuna hovers above him, hair falling into his dark, golden eyes. He looks soft in the way he only does here, in this room.

Tsuna has to give so much of himself to those around him, but _this_ is just for Takeshi. 

“I love you,” Tsuna says. He always does, before their long nights together, but Takeshi still squirms. Twenty years old and he’s every bit the lovesick moron he was at fourteen. “Happy birthday.”

“Love you, too,” Takeshi murmurs. “I had fun today. The sorry excuse for a bar fight was pretty cool.”

Tsuna huffs, rolling his eyes. “That definitely wasn’t part of the plan. I don’t know why I let Ryouhei talk me into getting stuff out of the basement.”

Takeshi says nothing, because he knows Tsuna lets them all get away with entirely too much. He doesn’t have the heart to deny them after they – in his eyes, at least – sacrificed everything to stay by his side.

“What else was in your plan?” Takeshi asks instead, glancing down at where Tsuna is perched above his groin. “Should I take a guess?”

Tsuna smiles, but it isn’t wolfish. It’s small and overly fond, and it does things to Takeshi’s heart. “Do you remember,” Tsuna says in a whisper, “what you told me? After that night in Rio?”

Takeshi stiffens at the reminder, body going cold, but Tsuna presses down against him, offering Takeshi his warmth, keeping him grounded.

He doesn’t like thinking about Rio. They haven’t been back in over a year, not since the night Tsuna took a bullet to the abdomen and nearly bled out before they could get him to a hospital. Takeshi remembers very little about the actual events. They come to him in dreams, flashes of memory that he would rather stay buried: the child with a gun in her hand and terror in her eyes; Tsuna on his lap in the back of an SUV, growing colder by the second; a loud nurse’s hand on his chest, pushing Takeshi back when he tried to follow Tsuna as he was wheeled away.

That night was an abject failure on everyone’s part. Takeshi’s for not protecting Tsuna, Hibari’s for not vetting the enemy well enough, Sasagawa’s for going soft at the sight of a crying child. Takeshi doesn’t think back on it if he can help it, but he knows Tsuna wouldn’t be bringing this up if it weren’t for a good reason.

“What about it?” he finds the courage to ask.

“I want to give that to you,” Tsuna says, and Takeshi’s eyes go wide. “But I wanted to talk to you first. See where your head’s at.”

“… what do you want me to say?”

Tsuna scoots forward on his knees, shuffling up Takeshi’s body so he can sit back more comfortably on his stomach. “I just wanna know what you would get out of it,” Tsuna explains. He speaks slowly, voice never raising above a certain level. He would back off if he truly felt that Takeshi was uncomfortable, but until then, he’ll only push in increments, only take what Takeshi is willing to give. “What would it do for you? It sounded like… it really meant something to you.”

Takeshi is quiet for a long while as he thinks. Almost subconsciously, his hands come up to rest on Tsuna’s hips, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops on his boyfriend’s dark slacks. He isn’t the type to put a lot of thought into the things he says. Gokudera always tells him to leave the complicated things to others, and Takeshi heeds that advice more often than not.

Saying what he feels is the only way forward Takeshi knows, but for some reason, this matter has him tongue-tied. He hadn’t actually thought Tsuna would remember.

“I’m yours, you know,” Takeshi eventually says. He carefully peers up into Tsuna’s face, but the other man shows no visible reaction, just watches Takeshi with love and patience. “Everyone knows it. I’m your friend and your Guardian. Your partner. But… for me… ”

“Yeah?”

Takeshi feels his eyes welling up, and Tsuna is quick to react this time, falling into Takeshi with hands on either side of his face, wiping away his tears. “Shh, it’s okay,” Tsuna says into Takeshi’s wet and trembling mouth. “I know it’s a lot, but I want to do this for you, okay? I just wanna know.”

“I’m yours,” Takeshi says again, eyes falling shut. “Everything I am. My mind, my body, my Flame, it’s all _yours,_ Tsuna, and I – I want you to take it.”

Takeshi doesn’t remember how he phrased it back then. He knows he must’ve been half out of his mind, heart and soul bleeding. Part of him had been on that table with Tsuna, and whatever had remained couldn’t deal with the reality of it.

He must’ve spent the whole night wishing, haggard and pale under the flickering, florescent hospital lights. It was the closest to death Tsuna had ever been, even considering the whole Byakuran fiasco, and Takeshi would’ve gone with him without question, promise be damned.

When Takeshi opens his eyes, Tsuna nods as if he’d known all along, like he’d just been waiting for Takeshi to say it. “You want me to possess you,” he says. “That’s what you told me. I’d never seen you like that before.”

“I don’t know what it would do for me,” Takeshi admits, feeling immature for wanting so badly despite being so uncertain. “Like, sexually. I mean, I’ve dreamed about it, but I don’t – We’ve never – ”

“You wanna know what I think?” Tsuna asks, trailing his fingers over Takeshi’s face, and when Takeshi stares into Tsuna’s eyes, he thinks he recognizes what he finds there. Tsuna so rarely gets like this, and it leaves Takeshi winded every time. “I think you’re tired of being alone in your body. You don’t want to _think._ You want to give yourself over to someone.”

“To you,” Takeshi says urgently. Tsuna _has_ to know that, it just won’t work any other way. “I don’t want to be me, not even a little bit. I just want to be _yours._ ”

“I know, I know, baby.” Tsuna reaches behind himself, and Takeshi keens at the sudden pressure against his dick. He hadn’t even noticed he was hard. Every point where their bodies touch throbs, like Takeshi’s been doused with liquid fire. “You want me to take what’s mine. You want to be owned. Don’t want to have a single thought in your head that isn’t about me.”

Takeshi whimpers, trying to chase the friction the heel of Tsuna’s palm brings. “ _Yes._ ”

“That’s good,” Tsuna murmurs. “You did really good, Takeshi, I’m proud of you for telling me. And you know what?”

Takeshi can’t answer. He’s overwhelmed by the sound of his own zipper coming undone, by how Tsuna doesn’t even have to _look_ to know how to work him, how he can keep Takeshi pinned and aching with just the weight of his gaze alone.

“I’m really happy,” Tsuna admits in the quiet, “because I think I _want_ to own you.”

* * *

 **Ryouhei:** you guys alive?? lol

**Hayato:** Shouldn’t we be asking you that?

 **Hayato:** You were the one who lost like three teeth.

**Ryouhei:** eh garyu healed me it’s fine

 **Ryouehi:** didn’t think kyouya would hit me THAT HARD but

 **Ryouhei:** its fine

**Kyouya:** You wanted a fight. I gave you one.

**Tsuna:** can you guys STOP Takeshi is still sleeping!!!

**Ryouhei:** (￢‿￢ )

**Hayato:** Oh ew

**Chrome:** I’m glad you two had a good night (*^‿^*)

 **Chrome:** Also, Tsuna, Mukuro-sama and I are out right now.

 **Chrome:** Moretti-san’s wake was this morning, so we went on your behalf.

**Tsuna:** that’s a little weird

 **Tsuna:** why was his wake so soon?

**Chrome:** Mukuro-sama is talking to his wife and daughter right now.

 **Chrome:** We’ll let you know if we find anything out.

**Tsuna:** okay. Let me know when you guys are back and I’ll meet you in my office

**Chrome:** Of course!

**Ryouhei:** so i guess we wont be seeing you or takeshi until lunch huh

 **Ryouhei:** want a advil? a heat pack? new spine?

**Tsuna:** miiiiind your own business (*^‿^*)

**Ryouhei:** I LOST THREE TEETH LAST NIGHT LET ME HAVE A LITTLE FUN

**Hayato:** Is birthday weekend over, Boss? Can we go back to work?

**Tsuna:** I mean if you want?? It’s still only Sunday

 **Tsuna:** but Chrome and Mukuro are out already so I guess it’s fine

**Hayato:** I’m invoking an early start to the work week, then.

 **Hayato:** As the boss’s right hand, I’m ordering you to shut up and come help me, Ryouhei.

**Ryouhei:** (눈_눈)

 **Ryouhei:** since takeshi might be dead ill say it for him

 **Ryouhei:** this is virgo behavior hayato

**Hayato:** wow it’s like he’s still here

**Takeshi:** wtf

 **Takeshi:** I’m not dead

 **Takeshi:** and don’t help Hayato yet, I want that advil


End file.
